


Yours and Mine

by Emmatheslayer, PervyPenguin



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Anal Sex, Bottom Castiel, Bottom Dean, Custody Case, Custody Issues, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Humor, Identity Issues, Lawyers, Light Dom/sub, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Minor Angst, One Night Stands, Oral Sex, Switching, Top Castiel, Top Dean, fostering, light consent issues (I'll warn and explain)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:56:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8211005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmatheslayer/pseuds/Emmatheslayer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PervyPenguin/pseuds/PervyPenguin
Summary: Castiel Novak has spent the last five years overseas with the army. When he comes back to Kansas, he feels disconnected and alone. While spending some time in a park, Castiel comes across a young boy, Jimmy,  who looks suspiciously like Castiel at that age. Finding Jimmy gives Castiel a purpose again, but how will it affect the rest of his life?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 2016 DCBB. Art by emmatheslayer. You can see more of her work [here.](http://emmatheslayer.livejournal.com/)
> 
> Many thanks to [Spndwiches](http://spndwiches.tumblr.com/) and [Destielonfire](http://destielonfire.tumblr.com/) for the beta work!
> 
> Chapter lengths are ALL OVER THE PLACE. Like, the first chapter is 3000 words, but others come in way under 1000. Sorry.
> 
> I did quite a lot of research for this, but I'm PRETTY sure an actual custody case wouldn't go down like this. That said, it's a pretty unusual situation and I can't say if there's ever BEEN a custody case like this. 
> 
> My sister (a former daycare teacher) would also like me to mention that a daycare center is more likely to only have full day care during the summer, rather than the half day I use in this story.

 

 

“What the _fuck_ do you mean, you leave in two days?” April screamed.

 

“April. I told you when we met that I was leaving soon. I’m a soldier, you knew that. I told you this was a one-off, just a fling before I ship out,” Castiel said tiredly.

 

“No. No, you did not tell me you would be gone in less than a week. When you said soon, I thought you meant… a few months. I thought we could build something together, maybe keep it going while you’re away,” April whined.

 

“I’m not interested in a long-distance relationship. I merely wanted to have some fun before the Army owns me. I told you it wouldn’t be anything serious,” Castiel said.

 

“Fuck you, Castiel. You can say whatever you want, but you’re just a selfish asshole.” April slammed the car door shut and stormed away.

 

Castiel sighed heavily, resting his head against the steering wheel of his Continental. He knew he  shouldn’t have listened to his brother when Gabriel told him to sow his wild oats, but it hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at the time. April had been so sweet and charismatic when they met at the bookstore. The few hours they had spent together over the weekend had been pleasant, a distraction from the fact that he had signed away at least 4 years of his life to the Army, but nothing more. Her reaction to his refusal for a continued relationship was regretful, but she would no doubt heal quickly.

 

Still, the confrontation had quite dampened his mood. He had only 24 hours of freedom before he had to report to base and he had no intention of spending that time moping. Castiel started up his car, revelling in the satisfying rumble of its engine. He wasn’t terribly familiar with the area, not being a native, but there had to be a bar somewhere nearby.

 

Leaves fluttered outside the car as it slowly crawled down Main Street. Castiel realized he was probably going under the speed limit, angering the drivers behind him, but he wasn’t in the mood to care. He kept his eyes largely on the storefronts until he found one that seemed promising: _Roadhouse Bar & Grill _. He pulled into the parking lot, parking towards the empty spaces at the back. It was early evening, but the bar seemed rather popular, and he’d hate to have his car dented by drunk patrons.

 

The fall air was crisp, not truly cold, though it did make Castiel glad to have his trench coat against the wind. Though the outside of the bar looked old and weathered, once he opened the door, Castiel was impressed by the obvious care that went into the interior. It was nowhere near fancy, but clean and obviously well cared for. The bar had more patrons than one would expect for early evening on a weeknight.

 

Castiel took his place at the bar, debating with himself whether he should order a meal or stick to drinking. He looked over the dated menu, his stomach grumbling at the thought of a bacon cheeseburger. His mind made up, he ordered the cheeseburger, as well as a beer and idly toyed with the beer bottle as he looked over the rest of the bar.

 

A voice from beside him made Castiel jump. “Hey Jo. What’s a guy gotta do to get service around here?”

 

The blonde bartender scoffed. “Oh, please, Dean. You’ve been here all of five seconds.”

 

A grin spread over the man’s, _Dean’s_ , face. “C’mon, don’t make me tell your mother you’ve been neglecting customers again.”

 

Castiel watched the byplay between the two with interest. They were obviously well acquainted to be ribbing each other so. Perhaps they were dating? Jo was a lovely woman, and Dean seemed to appreciate her beauty.

 

“Hey there, you new around here?”

 

Castiel startled again, not expecting to be addressed. He answered, “I’m not particularly new to the area, I’ve been training at the base, but I rarely leave it.”

 

Dean huffed. “I hear you. It doesn’t seem to matter what job it is, it rarely leaves much time to do stuff. I’m Dean.”

 

“Castiel.”

 

“Seems pretty formal for a bar, man. You got a nickname?”

 

“Not really. On base I’m usually addressed by my last name.” Castiel tilted his head slightly. “My brothers call me ‘Cassie’ on occasion, but I’m not particularly fond of it.”

 

“Can’t say I blame you.” Dean chuckled. “What about ‘Cas’?”

 

Castiel shrugged.

 

“Well, then. How ya doing, Cas?

 

Castiel’s shoulders slumped as he sighed. “I have had better days.”

 

Dean chuckled. “Lady problems?”

 

“You could say that. I’m in the Army, due to ship out in a few days. My brothers encouraged me to have a one night stand, a last hurrah for the time being or some such.” Castiel toyed with the label of his beer bottle. “Unfortunately, the woman I chose took exception to the fact that I’m leaving so soon and have no interest in pursuing a long term relationship.”

 

Jo butted in. “You did tell her up front, right?”

 

Castiel looked affronted. “Of course! Or rather… I thought I did. I told her I was leaving soon and that I had no inclination for anything long term or long distance. Apparently, she thought she had longer and would be able to change my mind.”

 

“Ah, that’s rough, man.”

 

“So, now, what was intended to be a bit of fun has rather soured my departure.”

 

“Hmm,” Dean hummed around the rim of his bottle. “Well, man, you picked the right bar to come be miserable in. I just got dumped myself.”

 

“Well, then,” Castiel taps his beer bottle against Dean’s, “here’s to having company for our misery.”

 

Dean laughed and ordered shots when Jo came back to check on them. They were mostly silent as they matched each other shot for shot. In little time, both men were slightly past tipsy. Before they could drink themselves stupid, Jo shooed them out the door.

 

The pair walked out of the Roadhouse together, both giggling, though they would each deny it. Castiel complained about needing to get a taxi to and from base, since he couldn’t drive drunk. Dean threw his arm over Castiel’s shoulder and laughed.

 

“Good news, Cas! You have a friend who lives just a couple blocks away.”

 

Castiel cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. “No, I don’t. Dean, I’m not from here, I don’t know anyone.”

 

Dean guffawed, throwing back his head. “Cas, I meant me. I live close by.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Come on, man. It’s getting cold out. Walk shouldn’t take more than five minutes.” Dean pulled Cas along by his trench coat.

 

Dean lived in an apartment building just out of sight of the Roadhouse. The building was dark red brick and three stories tall, with an overgrown front lawn. It seemed neglected, from the broken front lock to the loose handrail on the stairs. They walked to Dean’s apartment, on the second floor and Dean fiddled with the lock.

 

“It’s not much, man. But it’s a warm place to sleep tonight and won’t cost you $50 in taxi fare.”

 

Castiel laid his hand on Dean’s shoulder, turning him slightly in the doorway. “Dean, I’m sure it’s fine. Thank you for letting me stay tonight.”

 

Dean got caught in Castiel’s gaze as they locked eyes. The bright blue color of them shined, only slightly glazed from the alcohol, but the kindness showed through. Realizing he had been staring, Dean blinked and nearly jerked away.

 

“Yeah, no problem. S’my fault anyways, I’m the one who kept ordering us shots.”

 

They entered, Dean allowing Castiel to go first. He took in the apartment; the walls and kitchen counters were run down but spotless, the furniture faded and worn but comfortable looking. The walls were covered in picture frames, filled with what Castiel assumed was family and friends: a tall man with long hair, a faded picture of two small boys and a beautiful blonde woman, a redhead giving the “Live Long and Prosper” sign. Amusingly, he also saw a snapshot of Dean and Jo from the bar. He pointed it out.

 

“You know her well, then?” Castiel asked.

 

Dean’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “Ah, yeah. Jo’s mom, Ellen, is an old friend. Practically raised me and my brother.” He gestured towards another picture. “He’s the goofy tall one who needs a haircut.”

 

Castiel nodded.

 

“So… the couch pulls out, I can get you some clothes to sleep in and some blankets if you want.”

 

Castiel nodded and waved Dean off. He took off his trench coat and folded it over a chair. He moved the cushions and fought momentarily with the stubborn pull-out bed. A test bounce proved the bed to be a decent thickness and comfortable enough for a night. Pulling his shoes off, Castiel tucked them under the edge. His head perked back up as he heard Dean returning up the hallway.

 

Dean had a pillow, sheets, and a set of sleep clothes piled in his arm which he tossed on a chair. “Ok, so I’m probably a little bigger than you, but these ought to fit for tonight. You go ahead and get changed, I’ll make up the bed.”

 

He threw the sleep clothes, a soft t-shirt and plaid pair of pants, to Castiel, then turned to start making up the bed. When he went to grab the top sheet, he saw Castiel shrugging out of the shirt he had on and froze. He’d expected Castiel to go to the bathroom to change, but there he stood. Dean couldn’t help but take in the sharp hip bones, the way Cas’ muscles shifted under his skin with each movement, the dusting of hair leading from his flat stomach to disappear into his pants. Cas caught him staring and smirked.

 

“Like what you see?” He asked.

 

Dean’s face flamed and he whipped around to mess with the bed. “N-no. Why would you… what ev-even…”

 

Cas stepped closer to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, making Dean jump. “Dean, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal. I’ve seen you staring a couple times and thought… If you were interested… Well, you’re a very attractive man, and I thought I might end this free time on a high note. No pressure.”

 

Dean gulped, caught in the power of Cas’ gaze. His eyes flicked down to Cas’ lips and he licked his own. “I’ve, uh… I’ve never done anything with a guy.”

 

“But you are interested?”.

 

Dean nodded hesitantly, his eyes still on Cas’ pale pink lips. Slowly and smoothly, giving Dean plenty of time to move away, Cas leaned in to capture Dean’s mouth in a careful kiss: nothing more than firm pressure and soft skin. He reached his hand to Dean’s cheek, laying it tenderly there. The movement seemed to startle Dean into action. He licked Cas’ lips and moaned at the new sensation.

 

Dean’s response spurred Cas on. He licked his way into Dean’s mouth, delicately toying with his tongue. Dean let out a sound embarrassingly close to a whimper which Cas answered with a groan. He broke the kiss and gently pushed Dean back onto the sofa bed. Dean startled as Cas started to tug the shirt from his jeans.

 

Cas ran a hand soothingly down his side. “Shhh. It’s ok, Dean. Only as much as you want. Can I touch your chest?”

 

Dean nodded unsteadily, lifting off the bed to pull his t-shirt off. Cas smiled and followed Dean to the head of the bed and kissed his cheek. Dean blushed and ducked his head, but Cas just nudged into the hollow of his throat and nuzzled Dean’s collarbone, lapping at the pulse point. He heard Dean’s breathing speed up as he kissed his way down to Dean’s chest. A sharp inhale met his ears when he flicked his tongue over Dean’s nipple, followed by a whimpering moan. He toyed with Dean’s other nipple with his fingers as he gently bit down on the hardened nub in his mouth.

 

“Fuck, Cas!” Dean gasped out. Cas grinned up at him before pressing a line of kisses down Dean’s chest and stomach, pausing when he reached Dean’s jeans.

 

“May I take your pants off, Dean?” Cas asked.

 

“Yes, fuck yes.”

 

Cas gave one more kiss to Dean’s stomach as he flicked the jeans open. He shoved them down, stopping for confirmation when he hooked his fingers into his boxers. At the fervent nod, he pushed both down over Dean’s knees and off the bed to lie in an undignified heap on the floor.

 

“Wait.” Castiel had just been about to wrap his hand around Dean’s cock, but immediately stopped and looked up.

 

Dean smirked. “I ain’t gonna be the only one naked. Chop chop, soldier.”

 

Cas chuckled as he kicked off his own pants and underwear. He leaned back in towards Dean, taking a moment to kiss him deeply. He wrapped his hand around Dean’s cock, reveling in the way his eye fluttered shut at the touch.

 

“Oh, fuuuck…”

 

Cas teased at Dean’s ear as he stroked. “Do you like that, Dean? Feels so different from a woman’s hand, doesn’t it? Do you want me to suck you off? To take your cock deep in my throat? Hmm?”

 

Dean whined as he nodded.

 

Cas tsked reproachfully. “Tell me what you want, Dean. I want to hear you say it.”

 

“Oh, fuck. Fuck, please suck my cock, Cas.” Dean groaned.

 

Cas smiled dazzlingly. He bent to lap at the weeping head of Dean’s cock, moaning with pleasure at the bitter taste. He sucked more in, inhaling the heady musk of Dean’s scent. Dean moaned at the tight wet heat of Cas’ mouth. Cas gently rolled Dean’s balls in his hand as he flattened his tongue to lick a long stripe up the underside of Dean’s cock. He felt the telltale tightening of Dean’s balls.

 

“Are you going to come for me, Dean? Fill me up with it?” Cas asked. Dean jerked with want and need. Cas tightened his grip at the base of Dean’s cock. “Not yet, sweetheart. Do you have lube? Condoms?”

 

Dean nodded frantically and pointed to the side table. Cas dropped a quick kiss to Dean’s lips, then turned to rifle through the drawer. He shoved aside loose batteries and a takeout menu before he found what he needed. He turned back to Dean. “Dean. I told you I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want. Are you okay with this?”

 

The glassy lust haze cleared slightly from Dean’s eye and he smiled. “Yeah. I’ve done it to myself, just never with a guy. I want to feel you open me up and then stick your cock in me Cas.”

 

Cas growled with lust at Dean’s declaration and launched himself towards Dean to kiss him fiercely. He nipped at Dean’s lips as he flipped open the cap to the lube and spread it on his fingers. He leaned back to watch Dean’s face as he started probing at Dean’s hole. Dean ground down on his fingers.

 

“Patience, sweetheart. I don’t want to hurt you.” Cas said, stilling Dean’s hips. He pushed his finger past the tight ring of muscle and was deeply gratified by Dean’s groan. “That’s it, sweetheart. You’ve been so empty for so long, haven’t you?”

 

Dean could only moan in response. His hips jerked when Cas pushed a second finger in. “So good, Cas. Fuck, gimme more.”

 

“So hungry for it. Look at that ass grabbing my fingers, such a slut, just begging for my cock.” Cas teased, seeking out Dean’s prostate with his fingers.

 

“Fuck! Cas, please, I’m ready, fuck me, fuck me, please!” Dean shouted.

 

Cas slipped his fingers out and tore open the condom wrapper. He slid it on his own cock and nudged Dean’s ass with it. Teasingly, he asked, “Are you sure, Dean?”

 

Dean growled and shoved his ass onto Cas’ cock. “Yes! Now, shut up and fuck me!”

 

Cas pushed slowly into Dean’s ass, both of them moaning deeply. He drew back just as slowly, then slammed back in hard. Dean grabbed his shoulder tight, moans continuing to pour out of him. Cas snapped his hips at a brutal pace, staring deep into Dean’s eyes.

 

“So good for me, Dean. Fuck, you’re so tight.” He wrapped a hand around Dean’s cock, delighted by the instant tightening around his own cock. “Are you going to come, Dean? Come so hard with my cock deep inside you that you forget your name? Come for me. Now, Dean.”

 

Dean’s mouth opened in a silent scream as his cock exploded, pleasure washing over him in waves. His legs tightened around Cas’ hips, trying to draw his cock in deeper. As his orgasm rolled through him, his ass squeezed Cas’ cock in a debauched rhythm, pulling Cas’ own orgasm from him. Cas groaned deeply and collapsed on top of Dean. They both lay there panting.

 

“Wow.” Dean said.

 

Peeling himself away, Cas chuckled. “Was it all you expected?”

 

Dean grinned and turned to face Cas, only a slight wince marring the expression. “Wasn’t expecting the dirty talk or pet names, but damn, Cas. That was awesome.”

 

Cas nodded. “Good. Now, you stay there, I’m going to grab a towel to clean up with.”

 

Cas was back within moments and made quick work of wiping up the worst of the mess. Both men relaxed, cuddling close together. They were asleep minutes later.

 

Dawn broke with a vengeance. Between the sex and the drinking, neither man was feeling their best. They traded lazy kisses for a few moments, pointedly ignoring each other's morning breath.

 

“You can have first shower. There’s pain meds in the medicine cabinet and a spare toothbrush under the sink. I’ll make some coffee and breakfast.” Dean said.

 

They moved quietly around the apartment, going about their tasks. After a small breakfast of coffee and toast, Cas retrieved his coat from the chair and the men dawdled by the door.

 

“So... “ Dean started. “This was good, man. I know you’re shipping out, but if you’re ever in town you oughta look me up.”

 

Cas nodded. “I will.” They shared one final kiss before Cas left.

 

Neither realized they didn’t have each other’s last names.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**_5 Years Later_ **

 

His years in the army changed Castiel. He had seen things, _done_ things, that shamed him and hardened his heart. Coming back to Lawrence may not have been the best idea, but it was the only plan he could come up with. His parents were dead, Gabriel was impossible to live with, and he hadn’t even heard from Balthazar since his “menage a twelve” eight months ago. So, here he was.

 

He had been back ‘home’ for three weeks. Gabriel lived nearby, but it was wedding season; the bakery was beyond busy. Castiel hadn’t spoken to anyone but the landlord, grocery clerk, and pizza delivery driver since he was discharged. Work on his book was going steadily, but all in all, life seemed to pass him by in a blur.

 

Castiel sighed deeply. The air was warm around him, though nowhere as oppressive as what he’d grown used to over the last five years. He still didn’t know what he was going to do with the rest of his life, but he had a fair amount of money saved up and could afford to wait while he figured it out. For now, he sat and watched children playing on the playground, listening to their delighted shrieks and laughter. The sounds soothed him as little had since his deployment.

 

Tension slowly left his shoulders. He focused on breathing deeply, taking in the humid summer air, until he felt at peace. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth; this was the most relaxed he’d been in years.

 

A high pitched scream, not one of play, pierced straight through his calm. Castiel was immediately on his feet, looking for the source. He spotted a young boy on the ground by the monkey bars, a few other children half circled around him. He quickly strode over to the boy to offer his help.

 

When Castiel was only a few feet away, he froze. This boy… It was like looking at a photograph of himself at that age. The same unruly, dark hair; the same short, chubby stature; and most damningly, those eyes overflowing with tears were the exact same shade of blue as his own. Castiel shook himself and knelt next to the boy.

 

“Hi there. I’m Castiel. Did you fall off the monkey bars?”

 

The boy nodded, lip trembling.

 

“May I take a look at your arm?”

 

Another nod.

 

Castiel delicately ran his hand up the boy’s thin arm. He didn’t feel any obvious breaks, although that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t broken. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, glad he still carried them regularly, and gently wiped the tears off the boy's face.

 

“There we are. I don’t think it’s broken, but I’m not a doctor. Are your parents with you at the park? Can you tell me your name?”

 

At that moment a shrill voice cried out, “Jimmy! Oh, my god, Jimmy what happened?”

 

Castiel turned to see the speaker, a young woman, perhaps in her teens. Her face was white as a sheet and her breathing was heavy. “Are you this young man’s caretaker?”

 

She nodded tremulously. “Yeah. I’m Emma, his babysitter. Oh my god, his foster dad is gonna kill me. I went to the bathroom, I wasn’t gone more than five minutes, I swear!”

 

 _“Foster father?”_ Castiel thought to himself.

 

Jimmy piped up with, “It’s okay, Emma. Mister Cas helped me when I falled.”

 

Castiel nodded. “I’m sure his foster father will understand. It doesn’t sound as though you neglected him, and children do get into scrapes now and then. You may want to call him, though, and let him know what happened. I don’t believe it’s serious, but he may still want to take Jimmy to get X-rays.”

 

Emma nodded, her color returning. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll call him. Can you… uhm… just stay with him while I call Mr. W? Just to keep him out of trouble.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Emma walked a few steps away, her voice trailing off as she called her employer. Jimmy tugged on Castiel’s pants.

 

“Mister Cas? Are you an angel?” Jimmy asked.

 

Castiel cocked his head in confusion. “No. I’m a soldier. _Was_ a soldier. I used to be in the Army. Why?”

 

Jimmy sniffled. “My daddy says angels are watching over me. And you was there to help me.”

 

Castiel smiled softly. “Ah. Well, I’m not an angel, Jimmy. Just someone who could help.”

 

Jimmy looked vaguely disappointed, sadness tugging the corners of his lips down.

 

“But,” Castiel hastily continued, “Maybe the reason I was here was because your angel told me to come to this park. After all, I could have gone anywhere today.”

 

A bright grin broke out over Jimmy’s face, just as Emma returned. “Okay, Jimmy. Your dad wants you to see a doctor, so we’re gonna meet him at Urgent Care.” She grabbed Jimmy’s good hand and turned to Castiel. “Thank you so much, sir.”

 

Castiel nodded in acknowledgment.

 

“Bye Mister Cas!” Jimmy called out, waving excitedly.

 

Castiel gave his own wave in return as Emma and Jimmy drove away, then turned his thoughts inward. He had some research to do.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Castiel spent hours that night trying to find out what he could do with his suspicions that Jimmy was his biological son. He knew his situation had to be unusual. After perusing the website for Kansas’ social services and several general law sites about custody, he was still confused as to whether he had any rights at all. Most of the information he had found was for mothers: how to get child support, how to deal with shared custody, what information needed to be given for government assistance. The only information he found for fathers was concentrated on establishing paternity before the child was born or immediately after. Castiel was fairly certain four years later was not considered “immediate”. The information overload, combined with staring at the screen for so long, had given him a pounding headache.

 

“ _At this point, I’d probably be better off contacting a lawyer first.”_ He shook his head ruefully. A quick look at lawyers from the local bar association left him with several numbers to call the next day. He turned off his computer and stood, his back cracking as he stretched to dispel the tension in his shoulders.

 

As he prepared for bed, Castiel had time to think. Why was this boy, who may not even be his, so important to him? They shared a tenuous connection at best. Was he so lonely that he was latching on to the first excuse for a family he could find? A frown formed on his lips. He didn’t think he was being foolhardy, merely following a hunch to its conclusion. And he had always wanted a family and children. No, this was the logical thing, he convinced himself. Resolute, he drifted off to sleep.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The first two attorneys Castiel called couldn’t see him for two weeks. He could admit that the issue wasn’t terribly urgent, Jimmy had seemed happy and well-cared for, errant babysitter aside. He couldn’t help wanting to resolve the mystery as quickly as possible. He thanked them for the information but continued to make calls.

 

Finally, the secretary at Bellwether, Felton & Swoon told him they had a junior associate with time for a consultation in the afternoon. Filled with a renewed vigor he went about his day until it was time to leave for his appointment. He took a few documents with him, his discharge papers, his deployment orders, things that seemed important to him.

 

At 2:30 pm, he was welcomed into the office of one Samuel Winchester. The man was tall and had hair longer than Castiel thought most lawyers could get away with. He had a bright smile and they exchanged pleasantries.

 

“So, Mr. Novak. What brings you to a lawyer?” Winchester asked.

 

“Please, call me Cas. I have something of an unusual custody situation. I was in the Army and have been out of the country on deployment for the last five years. I was in a park yesterday afternoon and assisted a young child when he fell from the monkey bars. I have reason to believe that I may be his biological father, and would like to know what rights I have in such a situation,” Cas explained.

 

Sam’s brows furrowed as Cas told his tale. “Well… That is unusual. Most custody cases are much more straight-forward. Is the boy living with his mother?”

 

“No,” Cas answered. “He was with a babysitter at the park, and she mentioned the boy has a foster family.”

 

Sam started scribbling notes. “Right. The first thing to do would be to go to Child and Family Services and tell them you would like to determine paternity of one of their cases. They’ll do a DNA test. I assume you would want custody if you are the father?”

 

Cas nodded.

 

“In that case, you would likely need a lawyer. Because you’ve not been in the child’s life, the state would basically consider you to have abandoned him. An attorney could fight to have your parental rights reinstated and gain custody.”

 

Cas took in the information, pausing before speaking again. “What information would Family Services need to order a DNA test?”

 

“You would need to give them the child’s name, the mother’s name, and of course your information. The more information  you have to give them, the better. Do you have the boy’s name and his mother’s?” Sam asked.

 

Cas couldn’t help the blush that stained his cheeks. “I know who his mother would be, but I only have his first name and the last initial of his foster parent.”

 

Sam sighed loudly. “That may be alright. I can’t say for sure whether the state’s dealt with a situation like this, though I doubt it. What was the kid’s name, again?”

 

“Oh, I never said. His name is Jimmy, and the babysitter called his foster father ‘Mr. W.” Cas said.

 

The pen dropped from Sam’s hand as he suddenly sprang back in his chair, ramrod straight. “I can’t take this case.”

 

Cas tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean?”

 

“The W stands for Winchester. Jimmy’s foster father is my brother.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 _“Thank God it’s Friday,”_ Dean thought to himself. It had been a hectic week, between Benny calling off at the garage, Jimmy falling at the playground, and needing an emergency babysitter afterward. Emma wasn’t a bad kid, just a little immature, but no way was he trusting his son with her after the debacle in the park. Sure, Jimmy could’ve been hurt even being watched, but you just don’t leave a 4-year-old alone when you go to the bathroom.

 

Thankfully Dean’s mom had been able to take care of Jimmy today. Mary normally volunteered on weekdays, but the museum was closed for refurbishment, so she was spending the day with him. Dean had arranged to have Mary and John, his father, keep Jimmy overnight. He needed a break from… _life_ for a few hours. He planned to hit the bar, maybe pick someone up. His love life had been practically nonexistent in the three years he’d been fostering Jimmy. A few one night stands and plenty of time getting to know his own right hand.

 

Friday nights were late nights at the shop. He normally closed up around 6, but he’d seen too many people who couldn’t make it to the garage during normal hours, so he picked one day a week for extended hours. It was generally a pretty steady night, mostly oil changes and a few popped tires, so it was just two employees. They cycled through the schedule, no one wanted to lose every Friday night. He’d let Benny go around 8:45 and closed up shop by himself.

 

Driving down Main Street in his 67 Impala loosened some of the tension he’d be holding all week. It wasn’t as good as taking her down some back road, flying at 60 miles an hour, but a ride with Baby always made Dean feel better. The gravel crunched under her tires as Dean pulled into the Roadhouse parking lot.

 

Although not as popular as some of the more trendy bars, the Roadhouse still pulled in extra customers on the weekends. Dean’s usual seat at the bar was still open, thankfully, and Jo nearly beat him there with a bottle of beer. He ordered a burger with extra fries earning an eye roll from Jo. Dean always ordered the same thing.

 

He was nursing a second beer and finishing his fries when he heard it: a gravelly voice, vaguely familiar. Dean turned towards the source and took in the speaker. He had dark hair, mussed as if he couldn’t stop running his hands through it, dark stubble on his cheeks, and the bluest eyes Dean had ever seen.

 

_“Well, I’ll be damned.”_

 

“Cas? Castiel?” he asked, gaining the man’s attention.

 

Castiel turned. “I’m sorry, do I… Dean?”

 

Dean smiled brightly. “How’re you doing, man? Not here to drink off another bad one nighter are you?”

 

Cas grinned. “Not this time, no. Just looking to blow off steam after a long week.”

 

“What kind of release you looking for?” Dean wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “You just looking for a drink or…?”

 

“Well, I had only planned to have a few drinks, but I could be persuaded to call it a night early, were I to find the right company.”

 

Dean flagged down Jo and tossed a few bills towards her, nodding his head in thanks. “What do you say we get out of here?”

 

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Cas replied.

 

Cas hadn’t been in the bar long and was good to drive. The pair made small talk as they walked to Cas’ car. Dean stood in shock when Cas unlocked the driver’s door of the Continental. Then he burst out laughing. Cas turned to stare incredulously.

 

“Hahahaha…. What the hell? *snort* You a pimp now, Cas?” Dean managed to say.

 

Cas put his hands on his hips and glared at Dean in mock anger. “I’m sure I could find someone who doesn’t make fun of my car easily, Dean. Should I go back inside?”

 

Dean sobered quickly. He marched towards Cas, invading his personal space. “Uh-uh. You already picked me up, you’re stuck with me now.”

 

Whatever reply Cas was going to make was lost as Dean pressed a hard kiss to his mouth. Cas responded in kind, biting Dean’s lip. He moaned deeply as Dean pushed him back against his car. Their tongues twined, the kiss losing some of the ferocity but none of the heat. Cas ran his hands across Dean’s back. Loud cheers broke the pair apart.

 

“Woo! Get it boys!” Jo shouted from the door, grinning broadly. Both men blushed furiously at the audience they’d acquired.

 

Cas cleared his throat. “So… Your place or mine?”

 

Dean considered for a moment. “Yours. But you’re gonna have to drive me back in the morning.”

 

Cas nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. “That won’t be a problem.”

 

The ride to Cas’ apartment was quiet but tense. The energy between the men was palpable. They both threw open their doors. Cas took the stairs two at a time, Dean close on his heels. While Cas fumbled with his keys, Dean wrapped his arms around him. He started nibbling on Cas’ neck and running his hands up and down Cas’ sides.

 

“Dean,” Cas moaned. “Dean if you keep that up, we’ll…” Cas gave a sharp gasp as Dean palmed Cas’ hard cock through his pants. “Oh, fuck. Dean, let me get the door open.”

 

Dean chuckled deeply as he pulled back. He stopped touching Cas but stood closely enough that Cas could feel the body heat along his back, feel the breath against his neck. It took longer than it should have to get the door unlocked and opened. Cas dropped his keys on the floor and tugged Dean inside. He pushed Dean up against the wall and kissed him hard.

 

Privacy finally assured, Dean groaned into the kiss. He slid his tongue into Cas’ mouth, turning the kiss filthy. They spent long minutes kissing frantically. Dean broke the kiss to trail his lips across Cas’ jaw. He closed his eyes in pleasure and ran his hands up to tangle in Dean's hair. After so long of needing to be in control, he welcomed the chance to just accept sensation.

 

Dean tugged Cas’ shirt out of his pants and up over his head, discarding it without a thought. He gave little nips down the side of Cas’ neck and onto his chest. He knelt in front of Cas, hands deftly undoing the belt and fly. Dean gently nuzzled Cas’ cock through his underwear. A gasp escaped Cas when Dean licked a hot stripe over his hard length.

 

Dean licked his lips. “You want me to do something while I’m down here?”

 

Cas swallowed hard. The sight of Dean on his knees in front of him was intoxicating. His hips bucked, desperate for contact. “Deeeeaaaaan.”

 

Dean gave a wicked grin. “Yeah, Cas? You want me to suck your cock? I can feel how hard it is, baby.” He pulled down Cas’ underwear. “Mmmm, look at that. So hard for me, aren’t you?”

 

“Fuck, yes. Suck my cock, Dean.”

 

Dean gave the straining cock a gentle stroke. “Oh, no. You gotta ask nice, baby.”

 

Cas threw his arm across his eye and bit his lip. “Please, Dean. Please suck me off.”

 

Dean gave a quick swipe of his tongue to Cas’ cock, drawing a sharp inhale from the man. Dean had to smirk. It had been a while since he’d given a blow job, but he prided himself on his skill. He took Cas into his mouth and heard him groan deep in his chest. Dean flattened his tongue against the hard length in his mouth and hollowed his cheeks. Cas moaned and couldn’t help but thrust his hips. Dean pulled off his cock with an audible ‘pop’.

 

Dean tsked and pushed Cas’ hips back against the wall. “Ah ah ah. You stay still and be good. Think you can do that, baby?”

 

Cas nodded frantically. He’d have promised nearly anything to sink back into the warm, wet heat of Dean’s mouth. He groaned in pleasure and relief when Dean swallowed him down to the root. He watched his cock disappear between pink, pink lips, stretched wide to accommodate his girth. Dean looked up at him coyly through his lashes, his green eyes sparkling. He wasn’t going to last long at this point, and he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

 

“Dean,” he panted, gripping Dean’s hair tightly. “Dean, I’m gonna come.”

 

Dean slid his mouth off Cas’ cock. He stroked it with a sure, firm grip and asked, “You gonna come for me, baby? How you wanna do it? Want me to swallow you down, take everything you give me? Want to mark my face up?”

 

Cas gave a low-pitched whine. “Swallow it. Fuck, swallow it all, Dean!”

 

Dean quickly replaced his hand with his mouth, sucking hard. He gently rolled Cas’ balls in his hand. He felt Cas tense and moved his hand so he could just  press his thumb against Cas’ asshole. Cas wailed and came hard, the salty-bitter taste lying thick on Dean’s tongue.

 

Cas’ knees were jelly, his breath coming in harsh pants as Dean wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Dean pressed soft kisses to his thighs, his hips, his stomach, his chest, leaving a trail of gentle pleasure up to his jaw. Once Cas had caught his breath, he turned to kiss Dean, the bitter taste of come still on his lips and tongue. The bedroom was a short walk away; Cas backed Dean towards it and gently shoved Dean onto the bed. He lifted a brow at Dean, who laughed and quickly tugged off his own shirt, then shimmied out of his pants.

 

“Now that wasn’t very nice out there, teasing me like that,” Cas taunted. “And you know what they say: payback is a bitch.”

 

The smirk left Dean’s face as his erection gave a jerk. Cas crawled up Dean’s body and ran his hands up his arms. He couldn’t help but to give an appreciative squeeze to the firm sexy muscles. Cas wrapped Dean’s hands around the headboard and said, “Stay.”

 

Dean’s eyes were blown wide. He nodded shakily, too aroused to speak. It was Cas’ turn to smirk, cocky as hell. He licked and nipped his way back down Dean’s arms. Running his hands down Dean’s chest to toy with the waistband of his boxers, Cas captured Dean’s mouth in another filthy kiss.  Dean’s hands gripped tight on the headboard, a whimper caught in his throat.

 

“Now then, Dean,” Cas murmured, “you are going to stay still for me. Do you understand?”

 

Dean nodded.

 

“Words, Dean.” A slap rang out, the sting centered on Dean’s thigh.

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

Cas hadn’t expected the honorific, but it sparked something primal inside of him. He growled against Dean’s throat, lapping at Dean’s pulse point. He shoved his hand into Dean’s boxers and ran his fingertips along his cock, pulling a groan from him. For long minutes, Cas nipped his way up and down Dean’s neck and jaw, reveling in the sounds his lover made. He gripped Dean cock firmly and rubbed his thumb across the leaking slit. Dean’s muscles were tense, straining against the desire to move.

 

“Move, damn it!” Dean complained.

 

Cas tightened his grip on Dean’s cock. “Hmm, is that how you ask for something, sweetheart? I think if you want any favors you need to be polite.”

 

“Oh, fuck, sir!” Dean groaned. “Please, please move.”

 

A smile tugged at the corners of Cas’ mouth. “I don’t think that’s enough, this time, Dean. Tell me _exactly_ what you want, sweetheart.”

 

Dean whined lowly. “Please touch me, sir. Stroke my cock and make me feel good.”

 

Cas hummed. “Is that all you want tonight?”

 

Dean thrashed his head. “No! Want you to… please suck me off and make me come. Let me come in your mouth.”

 

“Good boy.”

 

Cas tugged Dean’s boxers down one-handed, his other still toying with Dean’s erection. He gave it a few gentle strokes. The tip of his tongue gave a quick swipe over the head. Dean gave a sharp gasp at the sudden sensation. It turned into a moan as Cas enveloped his cock in the tight heat of his mouth.

 

“Oh fuck yes. Feels so good.” Dean sighed.

 

Cas thought that sounded a little too composed. Thankfully, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. He pressed two fingers against Dean’s perineum, earning him a shout and bucking hips. He paused the suction he’d been giving Dean’s cock.

 

“Sorry, sorry. I know, don’t move.” Dean said.

 

Cas nodded around Dean’s cock and went back to his ministrations. He felt the tension in Dean’s body: shaking thighs, tightening balls, shuddering breaths. Dean’s climax was fast approaching, Cas was sure of it. He just needed a little extra push over the edge.

 

Cas pulled off just long enough to command, “Come for me, sweetheart. Let me taste your pleasure.”

 

Dean gave a loud cry and exploded into Cas’ waiting mouth. His knuckles were white where they gripped the headboard tight. Cas swallowed deeply, giving tiny licks as his orgasm receded. As Cas moved up to hold Dean in his arms, he felt the man still shaking and murmured assurances to him.

 

“Shh, I’ve got you, sweetheart. You were so good for me, just like I asked.”

 

Pink tinged Dean’s cheeks, the praise warming something deep in his chest. He settled into Cas’ arms, and was asleep before he had too much time to question anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Light filtered into the bedroom around six in the morning. It fell over Cas’ face and woke him. As it hit Dean’s face, he turned away from it to escape the sun’s rays. Turning him right into Cas’ chest. Unused to having a bed partner, Dean jerked awake when he felt the firm body.

 

“Oh. Uh. Hi, Cas.”

 

For some reason, Dean’s obvious awkwardness amused Cas. He chuckled as he said, “Good morning, Dean.”

 

Dean felt his cheeks heat up. Indignant, he said, “Hey, I’m not used to waking up with someone. One night stands usually end at, y’know, night.”

 

Cas laughed at that, a low, rumbling sound that warmed something at the pit of Dean’s stomach. “My apologies. Should I kick you out of bed, then? Or offer to make breakfast like I planned to do?”

 

“Dude, breakfast always wins.” Dean grinned hugely.

 

“Would you like to shower while I start it?”

 

Dean nodded and the pair separated; Dean to the bathroom and Cas to the kitchen. The water pressure in the shower was fantastic, though not as good as at Dean’s house. He’d had custom fixtures put in his bathroom, that stuff was blissful. He grabbed a shampoo bottle, which filled the room with the smell of mint. Not his usual, but at least it wasn’t that fruity shit Sammy used.

 

By the time he finished showering, the scents of coffee and bacon filled the air. He roughly towel dried his hair on the way back to the bedroom. He grabbed yesterday’s clothes. _Can’t be too bad just to wear a few hours,_ Dean thought.

 

Cas was just plating some pancakes when Dean walked into the kitchen. Cas nodded towards a cabinet; Dean found mugs inside and poured coffee into two. They ate and drank in silence. It wasn’t awkward, just peaceful. When they had both eaten their fill, Dean helped wash the dishes.

 

“So, Cas... “ Dean started. “I’m not really looking for a relationship, but… If you’re interested in a friends with benefits thing, I’m up for it. I mean, I don’t have a ton of free time, it’d probably be only like once a week. But I gotta say, the sex has been fantastic with you.”

 

Cas cocked his head and considered. Dean was an extremely attractive man and he was right, the sex between them had been great. Maybe a distraction from his newfound fight for his son would help keep him grounded. And it wasn’t like he had many other friends in town. “That sounds all right with me. I have a few conditions, though.”

 

“Shoot.”

 

“Exclusivity. We’re not in a traditional relationship, but it still matters. I also would ask that you talk to me if you want to change anything. None of this disappearing nonsense. We’re adults,” Cas explained.

 

Dean nodded. “That’s fair.” He looked at the clock. “Oh, crap I gotta get going. Here-” He tossed his phone. “- gimme your cell number. Are you good with texting?”

 

“That’s acceptable.” Cas punched in a text to his phone to get Dean’s number, then handed it back.

 

“Well, this was fun. I’ll let you know when I’m free, okay? Is there any time you’re not available?”

 

“Not at this point. I’ve not been back very long, and I work from home, so I can set my own schedule for the most part.”

 

“Sounds good.” Dean nervously shuffled his feet. “I guess I’ll be going then.”

 

Cas led him to the door. Before he opened it, he turned to Dean and gave him a quick, hard kiss. “Till next time, Dean.”

 

Dean’s eyes were glazed over as he left. He got to the sidewalk before realizing that Cas had driven them back from the bar. He spun on his foot and moments later was knocking on Cas’ door.

 

“Dean? Did you forget something?”

 

He couldn’t help it, Dean burst out laughing. “Dude, _you_ drove last night, remember? My car’s at the bar.”

 

Cas started laughing too. “Of course. Give me a moment to get shoes and I’ll take you back.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. Chapter 4

  
  


Monday sucked. Even more than Mondays always sucked. Dean had taken the day off to look at day care centers for Jimmy. The first center looked terrible: old toys, disinterested caregivers, run-down facilities. The second and third looked great, but both were way too expensive. He finally found one that seemed to work, and even then he had to juggle things. The center was nearly full, so he could only get Jimmy enrolled in half-day care. Thankfully, his mom was willing to change her schedule volunteering at the museum. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Dean figured it would only be for a couple of months; Jimmy would start preschool in the fall.

 

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Dean’s cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Garth, Jimmy’s case worker with Family Services.

 

“Hey, Garth, what’s up?”

 

“Dean, how’re you doing?” Garth asked.

 

“I’m good, man. Looking at day care centers for Jimmy. We didn’t have anything scheduled, right? I didn’t forget something?”

 

“No, no, nothing like that. We have come across a little snag, though. I know you were talking about trying to adopt Jimmy. We uh… may have a problem there.”

 

“What do you mean? I thought it was pretty easy at this point since I’ve had Jimmy for so long and already passed the home visits and everything.” Dean said.

 

“Well… One of the reasons we had Jimmy in foster care in the first place, instead of immediately trying for adoption, is that we hadn’t been able to contact the father.” Garth started.

 

Dean interrupted impatiently, “Yeah, and it’s been so long that you figure he’s abandoned his parental rights. I’ve heard it all, Garth, get to the point.”

 

“We just had someone come in today, claiming to be Jimmy’s dad.”

 

A cold, sinking feeling hit Dean’s stomach. He grabbed the back of a kitchen chair. “So? He abandoned his son. He didn’t care for four years, what made him care now?”

 

“He was military. He didn’t even know Jimmy existed. It’s an unusual situation, so we have to err on the side of caution. We have to pause the adoption process, at least until he drops his claim.” Garth explained.

 

“This guy can just come in and take my kid? Even though he hasn’t even met him?” Dean’s voice cracked.

 

“We at least have to take this seriously, Dean. We’ll have to do a DNA test. If that comes back positive, he could contest your adoption, and file for custody himself.”

 

Tears pooled in Dean’s eyes. “I can’t… We can’t let that happen, Garth. Jimmy’s my kid, not this asshole’s. I don’t care what the DNA says, I’ve raised him. He’s mine.”

 

Garth let out a long sigh. “I know, Dean. I would never have wished this on you. But we have to treat blood claims with great caution.”

 

“What if it turns out this guy is Jimmy’s….” Dean cleared his throat. “If he fathered Jimmy? What do I do then? Just hand over my son?”

 

“At that point, Dean, you could fight it out in the courts, but I can’t tell you how it would turn out. Like I said, this is a weird case.”

 

Dean nodded absent-mindedly. “Yeah. So. Do I need to bring Jimmy in? Or do we go to a doctor? For the DNA test, I mean.”

 

“You gotta go to a specific center, since it has to be court admissible. There’s a lab on Lawrence Ave, just past 6th. You can make an appointment with them, it shouldn’t take too long to get a sample,” Garth said.

 

“All right.”

 

“And Dean? I really hope this works out for you.”

 

“Me, too, man. Me, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cas couldn’t call his visit to Family Services an overwhelming success, but at least they hadn’t laughed in his face. He also still needed to find another lawyer. He was just sitting down to look for more firms to call when his cell phone started blasting “Candy Man”. _Great,_ he thought, _Gabriel._

 

“Hello, Gabriel.”

 

“Cassie! Good to hear your voice! You’ve been back in the states for three weeks and haven’t once called your favorite brother?” Gabriel teased.

 

Cas rolled his eyes. “I haven’t spoken to Baz in more than six months, let alone the last three weeks.”

 

Gabriel let out a gasp. “You wound me! Favoring him over me? For shame!”

 

A chuckle escaped from Cas. “Did you want something, Gabriel?”

 

“No, no, I’m just calling to check in. I know you, Cassie. You don’t deal well with big changes. How are you holding up?”

 

“I’m fine, Gabriel. I’m settling in at my new place, becoming more acquainted with the town. Everything is fine.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Gabriel said disbelievingly.

 

“It’s the truth, Gabriel!”

 

“Sure it is. Have you even had a conversation with anyone since you moved back? Dare I hope you got some action?”

 

“As a matter of fact, I have, you nosy ass. I actually met someone I’d known before this deployment.” Cas said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

 

“Oh-ho, has Cassie found himself a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?”

 

Cas snorted. “Hardly. But we may be in a friends with benefits situation.”

 

Cas could practically hear Gabriel’s eye roll. “Whatever makes you happy, bro. Anything else going on in your life?”

 

Cas considered for a moment whether he should mention Jimmy. In the end, he figured Gabriel would kill him if he only found out later. “Well… You remember that one night stand you and Baz talked me into a few years ago? I think… I think I have a son.”

 

“Holy shit. Did you run into her again or something?” Gabriel asked.

 

“No. I was at a park last week, and saw him. He fell off the monkey bars.”

 

“Wait. What makes you think this rugrat is yours?”

 

“Gabriel, he looks exactly like me at that age. It’s beyond a resemblance, he could be my clone,” Cas explained.

 

“Ok, so what now? Are you gonna talk to his mom?”

 

“Actually, he’s in foster care. I don’t know if April passed or gave him up.”

 

Gabriel let out a long sigh. “And? I can tell there’s something you’re not telling me.”

 

Cas closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “I’m going to try to get custody. I already went to Family Service, they’re going to do a DNA test. But I _know_ he’s mine, Gabriel.”

 

“What the hell, Cassie?” Gabriel exploded. “You don’t even know this kid! So what if he _is_ yours? He’s gotta be, what, four or five by now? And you’re just going to take him? Have you ever even taken care of a kid?”

 

“He’s my _son_ , Gabriel,” Cas said frostily. “ _My_ son. And I will learn as much as I can before I bring him home, but I _will_ bring him home.”

 

“Cassie… I just think you’re not thinking this through. What if he’s in a good home? What if he’s got a family?” Gabriel said wearily.

 

“It’s not up for discussion, Gabriel. I would appreciate your support, but I’m doing this one way or the other.” Cas said through gritted teeth.

 

“Of course I’ll support you. I just think you need to think about this really hard.” Gabriel sighed. “Listen, I gotta get going. You call me if anything happens, alright? I mean it, anything.”

 

Tension leeched out of Cas’ frame. “Thank you, Gabriel. I’ll speak to you again soon. Have a good night.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean called everyone to set up an emergency family dinner: his parents, his brother, Bobby, Charlie, Jody. He needed help with this. The possibility of losing Jimmy was so terrifying and so sudden he had no idea where to even start. Should he tell Jimmy what was happening? Should he get a lawyer immediately or wait until the DNA test? How would he go on if he lost his son?

 

They all met at John and Mary’s house. Despite both of their sons moving out years ago, they had never downsized, so they had the largest house. Given the last minute nature of the dinner, everyone brought a dish. Mary made a large pan of lasagna, Sam brought a salad, Charlie made garlic bread. Jody even had a pie (store bought, but still pie). Dinner itself was rather uneventful. The adults were all tense, knowing something was bothering Dean, although Jimmy was obliviously happy.

 

After the meal and clean-up, Dean set up his sleepy toddler on the couch with a movie so he could talk without being overheard.”Okay… So… The thing is…”

 

“Is something wrong, honey? Are you sick?” Mary asked. “Is Jimmy?”

 

“No, no, nothing like that.”

 

“But it is bad news,” Bobby said.

 

“Yeah. I got a call from Garth today. Some guy claiming to be Jimmy’s father went to Family Services,” Dean said. “He’s going to try to get custody.”

 

The kitchen erupted in noise. Tears filled Mary’s eyes. Charlie chimed in with a “He can’t do that!” Both Bobby and John looked ready to shoot something.

 

“You’re fighting him, right?” Jody asked.

 

“Of course I am! Jimmy’s my son, regardless of DNA. I just… I don’t know what to do. I have to take Jimmy to get a DNA test; should I tell him why? Do I need a lawyer now, before we know for sure? And what if…” Dean choked up. “What if I lose him?”

 

“We won’t let that happen, son,” John said. “You’ve been a good father to that boy, and this asshole hasn’t even tried to see him for four years. What judge would choose this deadbeat over you?”

 

Dean ran a hand over his face. “According to Garth, this guy was in the military. He’d been deployed and that’s why he didn’t know about Jimmy. You know judges around here tend to be really sympathetic to vets. Add that to a blood connection and I could lose.”

 

“Well, screw that! We’ll all help you keep Jimmy. Sam can be your lawyer, your parents will watch Jimmy if you need to do stuff after work,” Charlie said. “If you want, I’ll dig up some dirt on this guy, maybe find some reason he shouldn’t get Jimmy.”

 

“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that,” Jody, the sheriff, said. Charlie gave her a smile that managed to simultaneously be sheepish, mischievous, and apologetic at the same time.

 

Dean shook his head. “Thanks, Charlie, but I wanna do this on the level. Sammy? You’re awful quiet.”

 

Sam let out a long sigh. “I can’t be your lawyer. Since we’re related, it’d be considered a conflict of interest. I’ll ask a couple of people at the firm if they have time for the case. I was thinking about asking Abby. I don’t like her personally, but I have to admit she’s a fantastic family lawyer.”

 

“Abby… Abaddon, that evil redhead? You seriously want to…” Dean trailed off. “Wait. What do you mean you were thinking about it? You’ve known all of ten minutes.”

 

“Uh, not exactly.” Sam ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I kind of… had a meeting with the guy who’s trying to get custody.”

 

A hush fell over the room, the only sound that of Jimmy’s movie from the family room.

 

“What do you mean, you had a meeting with him?” Dean asked tightly.

 

“He was looking for a lawyer and made a consultation appointment with me. He told me his side before we got to names. I told him I couldn’t take the case and he left. It wasn’t a big deal,” Sam said.

 

“Not a big deal?” Dean erupted. “Not a big deal?! I could lose my son because of this bastard! And you think it’s not a big deal?! What the hell man? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

 

“You know I can’t tell you about clients at work, Dean. Attorney-client privilege is in force even for consults.”

 

“I don’t fucking care, Sam! This isn’t just any old client! This is the asshole trying to take Jimmy away from me!”

 

Sam’s eyes went wide and an uncomfortable silence fell.

 

“What?” Dean asked angrily. He turned to look at his dad, sure he’d back him up on this. Family first, right? But there in the doorway stood a shaken-looking Jimmy.

 

“Daddy?” He asked, voice wavering. “Someone’s trying to take me away?”

 

Dean rushed to his son’s side. “Jimmy… Honey, you know how Daddy isn’t the one who made you? That the lady who had you couldn’t take care of you and wanted you to have the best life you could and so Daddy took you in and is trying to adopt you? Apparently, the man who helped make you wants to have you to himself.”

 

Tears streamed down Jimmy’s face. “B-but I-I-I don’t wanna be taked away! You my daddy! I want to stay with you!”

 

Dean wrapped the boy up tightly in his arms. “Shh, shh. I’m going to do everything I can to keep you with me. Uncle Sammy is going to help, and we’re going to fight so you stay right where you belong.”

 

Jimmy was inconsolable. Dean sat with him and rocked him on the kitchen floor. Slowly, his friends started to say their goodbyes, reassuring both Dean and Jimmy that they were going to help. Dean refused to talk to Sam as he left, glaring steadily at him instead. The house seemed eerily quiet, punctuated only by Jimmy’s sobs. Finally, after twenty minutes, the poor boy had worn himself out and was dozing lightly on Dean’s shoulder.

 

Dean eased himself up to his feet as carefully as possible. “I’m gonna go. Mom, Dad, thanks for having the dinner here. I appreciate it.”

 

“Of course, Dean,” Mary said. “And Charlie was right, anything you need, you just let us know.” She dropped a kiss on Dean’s cheek, then one on Jimmy’s forehead. “And try not to be too mad at Sammy. You know he was doing what he thought was best.”

 

The anger was still too fresh for Dean to truly forgive his brother, but he knew he would. He wasn’t exactly rational about his family sometimes, and tensions were running high. He nodded wearily at his mother. John came by to ruffle Jimmy’s hair.

 

The ride home was short. Jimmy slept the entire way; Dean was vacillating between rage and terror. He pulled into his garage and took his son inside. Jimmy woke up briefly as Dean changed him into pajamas.

 

“Daddy? I sleep with you?” he asked in a soft voice.

 

Dean’s throat threatened to close up and his eyes grew wet. “Of course, honey.”

 

As the pair drifted off to sleep in Dean’s big bed, he vowed to do anything he had to to keep his son. He held his boy tight, as though afraid someone would steal him away in the middle of the night. Just before sleep claimed him, Dean laid a kiss in his son’s hair.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the possible consent issues come into play. Everything is fully consensual, but it's not explicitly stated until AFTERWARD that Cas is definitely into it. I don't think it is an issue, but better safe than sorry.

 

Overhearing Dean and Sam’s argument had shaken Jimmy terribly. When Dean tried to drop him off at daycare he cried and screamed and clung to his father. Out of options, Dean had begged his mother to watch Jimmy for the next few days. Mary had to cancel her volunteer work for the week just so Dean could manage to get to work. After picking Jimmy up from his parents’ house, Dean couldn’t go more than five feet from the boy. No matter where he went, Dean had a three and a half foot tail.

 

Dean loved his son fiercely, but being so constantly together was exhausting. By the time Friday rolled around, Dean was more in need of a night out than he could say. He was still pissed at Sam, but when his brother offered to have a sleepover with Jimmy he sure as hell didn’t say no. He considered going to the Roadhouse. With the mood he was in, though, he’d end up getting in a fight. Jody might be a friend, but she’d lock his ass right up if he got into a bar brawl. Luckily, Dean had a backup plan.

 

**To: Cas**

**Sent: 7:46 pm**

**Hey, Cas, I’ve had a crap week. You up for some fun?**

 

A few moments later, his phone buzzed.

 

**From: Cas**

**Received: 7:49 pm**

**Sure. Feel free to come over to my place around 8:30.**

 

With his plans settled, Dean ate a quick sandwich, brushed his teeth, and grabbed a couple condoms from his bedside table. After a second thought, he grabbed a half empty bottle of lube as well. _Better safe than sorry._

 

The big black Impala pulled into the parking lot of Cas’ apartment at 8:40. He was a little late, but he figured it’d work out fine. He knocked on the door to 314 and waited. When Cas opened the door his hair was damp, he only had on a thin t-shirt and soft flannel pants. A hunger rose up in Dean and he pulled Cas into a quick hard kiss.

 

“Hello to you too, Dean,” Cas said drily.

 

“Shut up.” Kiss. “I have had-” Kiss. “-the shittiest week.” Kiss. “So just. Shut. UP.”

 

Dean pressed Cas into the apartment and against the wall, slamming the door shut behind them. Cas’ response left nothing to be desired. His moans spurred Dean on, teeth bumping against each other, tongues clashing. Cas let Dean take control of the kiss. He clearly needed it. They broke off only to take deep breaths. Dean licked and bit his way down Cas’ neck, sucking a hickey into the tender skin. Pleasure spiked through Cas, a sharp heat centered low in his stomach.

 

“You like that, baby?” Dean murmured. “I can feel how hard you’re getting. You’re gonna let me take you apart tonight, ain’t ya?”

 

Cas could only nod feverishly, his hips bucking.

 

Dean smirked. “Yeah, so needy. Just desperate to get some cock in you.” He gave a lick up Cas’ neck and palmed his erection through his pants. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you just what you need.”

 

It had been so long since Cas had been overcome with need like this. He pressed himself into the heat of Dean’s body, desperate for more contact. “Dean. Dean, please.”

 

“Shh, baby, I know what you need.” Dean slipped his hands into the elastic waistband of Cas’ pants and pushed them down. He gave a few tugs to Cas’ hard cock. When he moved his hands to grope at Cas’ ass, he felt something unexpected. “Oh-ho, what’s this? Someone so eager they couldn’t wait for me to get here?”

 

A whimper escaped Cas’ throat as Dean toyed with the plug he had in his ass. “Just-just thought I could... be prepared.”

 

Dean growled into Cas’ ear. “Smart thinking, baby.” He gave a loud smack to Cas ass. “Now move that tight little ass to the bedroom.”

 

They both rushed to the bedroom and stripped quickly. They kissed roughly, biting each other’s lips and gasping into each other’s mouths. Dean sucked a line of open-mouthed kisses down Cas’ chest. He laved his tongue over the tight, pink buds of Cas’ nipples as he squirmed against Dean’s mouth straining for more contact. He let out a groan when Dean swiped his tongue over the head of his aching cock. Dean teased the slit, eyes hooded with arousal.

 

“Oh, god, Dean. So good, fuck!”

 

Dean pulled his mouth off Cas’ hard cock and grinned mischievously. He slowly pulled the plug in Cas’s ass out, eliciting a gasp from the man. “Yeah, you like that, don’t you, baby? Such a wanting little slut.”

 

“Yes, yes! Need it so bad. Fuck me, Dean!”

 

“Ah ah ah. Ask nicely.” Dean said with a slap to Cas ass. He ripped open a condom wrapper and rolled it down his cock.

 

Cas flipped himself over, landing on his knees and leaving his ass high. He shook his hips lightly, entreatingly. “Please, Dean. Been ready for so long and feel so empty. Fuck me, shove your cock in my ass.”

 

“Mmm, such a good boy for me.” Dean slid himself between the cheeks of Cas’ ass. “Look at that pretty little hole, empty and begging for my cock.” Another slap jiggled the muscles of Cas’ ass. “Is that what you want, baby? Want my fat cock to destroy your tight little ass?”

 

“Yes! Fuck my ass, please, need you in me so bad, Dean,” Cas shouted. “Please, please, please.”

 

Dean slowly pushed into Cas’ hole, teeth gritted with pleasure. “Fuck, Cas. So fucking tight, fucking hot on my cock.”

 

He gripped Cas’ hips tight, stilling them. “Stay still, baby. Don’t wanna come too soon; gotta wreck you, right?”

 

A high, keening whine came from Cas. “Yes, yes, wreck me! Now move, damn it. Fuck me hard and fast.”

 

Dean bent over Cas’ back to nip at his ear. “Such a slut for me, for my cock. You need it so bad you can’t stand it, huh? Well, if that’s what you want.”

 

With that, Dean pulled his hips back and slammed in with great force. Cas’ pleas turned to moans and whimpers as Dean fucked into him hard. He moved his hips back, fucking himself onto Dean’s cock. On one particularly hard thrust, Dean hit Cas’ prostate, making him cry out.

 

“Yes! Right there! Fuuuucck! Harder, Dean, harder! Give me that big fucking cock.”

 

His eyes closed tight, Dean sped up his thrusts. Cas fell onto his shoulders, snaking one hard down to wrap around his aching cock.

 

“That’s it, baby. Gonna make me come in your slutty little ass. You gonna come when I fill you up? Come around my cock like a good slut?” Dean ground out.

 

Cas sobbed, “Yes, yes, yes! Come in me, Dean.”

 

“Fuck, yes, gonna come. Take it, Cas,” Dean groaned.

 

Cas could feel the stutter of Dean’s hips, the heat of his climax filling the condom inside him. The hand on his cock sped up, chasing his own high “Oh, fuck, Dean! So good, gonna come. Gonna come! Fuck!”

 

Pleasure rolled through Cas in huge crashing waves. Dean collapsed onto his back and held Cas as his body shuddered, their breaths coming hard and fast. They laid on the bed, racing heartbeats slowly calming, the air bringing a chill to their sweaty skin. Dean pressed a panting kiss to Cas’ shoulder before rolling over on his side to take care of the condom. He found a box of tissues on the bedside table and gave himself a quick cleanup, then gently cleaned Cas a bit.

 

“Was-was that ok? I know I got kinda rough and my mouth kinda ran away with me…” Dean asked.

 

Cas rolled his eyes. “Sweetheart, that was fantastic. When you said you’d had a bad week, I thought something like this would happen. Why do you think I showered and had a plug in before you got here?”

 

Dean snorted. “Still… We didn’t exactly talk about this shit.”

 

“Dean, listen to me.” Cas held Dean’s face in his hands and stared into his eyes. “I enjoyed every minute of it. You need to trust me to know myself and tell you when something goes too far, ok?”

 

Dean nodded sleepily. “It was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?”

 

Cas gave him a gummy grin and a kiss on the nose, making Dean wrinkle it. “Yes, it was. Now go to sleep.”

 

Dean curled around Cas, listening to the steady _ba-bump, ba-bump_ of his heartbeat as he drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Monday brought a meeting with Cas’ new lawyer, Fergus Crowley. He took with him his folder of important information he’d gathered: ID, military papers, even bank information. Anything that he thought might strengthen his case for custody.

 

“Well, Mr. Novak, you certainly are prepared,” Crowley, as he insisted on being called, commented. “How far are you willing to go to gain custody? I have some ideas for this case. Nothing illegal, mind you, but what some might consider dirty.”

 

“I don’t care what we have to do. I want custody of my son,” Cas said. “And if that means underhanded tactics, so be it.”

 

“Excellent. Now, I’ve had a look into the specifics as much as I can, and we have some options. The first thing you need to do is set up a space for young James. Make sure there’s a room in your home for him, so you can show the judge you’re serious about caring for him.” Crowley sized Cas up. “What do you do for work?”

 

“I’m a military historian and author. I work from home at this point. Why?”

 

“That’s good. Since you work from home, we can play up the fact that you can look after for your child without child care, you know, since his foster family has clearly done a poor job of securing safe caregivers for him.”

 

A small lump formed in the center of Cas’ stomach. He didn’t think Jimmy’s babysitter had been terrible, and who knew how this Winchester  had reacted anyways? He pushed the uncertainty to the back of his mind. “Very well. Do you have any other suggestions?”

 

“Once I’ve received some information on the foster parent, I’ll have some more ideas for you. For now, get to work on that bedroom for the kid.”

 

Cas nodded and gathered his things to leave.

 

“Oh, one last thing. If you find anything out about the family we can use against them, you be sure to let me know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean had never been more grateful to be a manager for the family business. He was in charge of Winchester Auto & Singer Salvage on a day to day basis, both Bobby and John having semi-retired. So when Dean needed a day off to take Jimmy to the DNA testing center, he had the option of calling in backup for the shop.

 

To make the ordeal as painless as possible for Jimmy, Dean decided to make a day of it. He made chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast while Jimmy watched ridiculous cartoons. Jimmy was allowed to eat in the front room in front of the tv, a very special privilege for the boy. After doing the dishes, Dean loaded Jimmy into his car seat and set off for their 10:30 appointment at the testing center.

 

“Ok, buddy, first we gotta go see a special kind of doctor. They’re gonna use a little q-tip to rub the inside of your cheek. I’ll be with you the whole time and it shouldn’t hurt. It might feel weird though.”

 

“But why do I gotta?” Jimmy asked.

 

Dean hissed through his teeth, trying to form a good answer. “Well, they’ve got special tests they can run to see who helped your mommy make you. They take your q-tip and the other person’s and compare these tiny little things called DNA. If they match, it means you’re blood-related. But no matter what happens, what do we always say about family?”

 

“Fam’wy don’t end with bwood,” Jimmy mumbled.

 

“That’s right, buddy. No matter what this test says, I’m always gonna love you.”

 

“Me, too, Daddy.”

 

Tears threatened to spill from Dean’s eyes. He had to hold it together for Jimmy’s sake. The lab was in a tiny strip mall, near a liquor store and hair salon. Dean helped the boy from his car seat and carried him inside, Jimmy clinging tight to him. Inside, the place looked like an odd cross between a doctor’s office and an impersonal apartment with uncomfortable black plastic chairs that lined the walls. Dean set a complaining Jimmy on his own feet so he could talk to the woman at the window.

 

“Hi, I’ve got an appointment for a DNA test?” He said unsurely. “I’ve got some paperwork from Family Services, I wasn’t sure you’d need it.”

 

She was silent as she put out her hand for the paperwork. After a quick glance, she said, “We’re running a bit behind, it may be a little while before we can get you in.”

 

Dean bit his tongue. _That’s why I made the appointment, so we wouldn’t have to wait._ He nodded tightly, gathered Jimmy back into his arms, and sat in one of the crappy chairs. He fished his phone out of his pocket. Jimmy was going to need distracting and Angry Birds would have to do.

 

Twenty interminable minutes later, someone called out, “Winchester?”

 

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin. Jimmy’s eyes grew wide as Dean lugged him down the narrow hallway. They were led to a small room with a pair of even more uncomfortable chairs, this time with arms for blood testing, and left alone.

 

“Mr. Winchester?” A brunette with a clipboard came into the room. “I’ve just got some information I need before we get the sample.”

 

Dean had to grit his teeth against snapping at her. _They couldn’t have done this while I waited?_ He answered her questions and they were left alone in the room again. _They really should decorate in here. A couple of paintings or something._

 

Finally, a nurse came back. She knelt so she was eye level with Jimmy. “Hi there. I’m Karen. I’m gonna use this little q-tip-” She showed Jimmy the swab. “-to rub the inside of your cheek. Can you open your mouth up really wide for me?”

 

Jimmy looked up at Dean, who nodded. He opened his mouth and the nurse quickly swiped his cheek. She capped off the sample and stood back up. The entire process took less than a minute and Dean wanted to bang his head against the wall at how long they’d had to wait for such a quick thing.

 

“That’s it, sweetheart,” Karen told Jimmy. She turned to Dean. “We’ll test this against the sample we have and send the results over to Family Services. It should take about a week for the lab to get the results. If you haven’t heard from Family Services in two weeks, give them a call.”

 

Thankfully for Dean’s back, Jimmy was okay with walking back out to the car. “Okay, buddy, now we’ve got the whole day to do fun stuff. I thought we might go see a movie,have lunch, and maybe stop for ice cream. What do you think?”

 

“C’n we… c’n we go to the special theater? The one you can eat in?” Jimmy asked, excited at the prospect.

 

“Sure thing, bud.” Dean grinned. The theater was about forty five minutes away, far enough to make it a special trip. There was nothing really wrong with the local theater, but it was a day for treats. “I thought we’d go see that new Disney movie. Inside Out?”

 

“Yaaay!” Jimmy shouted.

 

The ride to the theater went well. Dean turned up the radio and father and son sang along to Dean’s classic rock mix tapes. Jimmy tripped over the words sometimes, but was so enthusiastic about it Dean couldn't help but smile widely.

 

The theater was pretty empty. Weekdays around noon weren’t normally busy, even during the summer. Dean bought the tickets and held Jimmy up to the window to pick out their seats. They settled into their spot toward the back of the theater.

 

“All right, kiddo, what do you think you wanna eat? Looks like you can get chicken or fish or a burger or mac and cheese,” Dean read off the menu.

 

“Burger!” Jimmy exclaimed.

 

Dean chuckled. “That’s my boy. Let’s see… Ooh, they got nachos. You wanna share some nachos?”

 

Jimmy nodded fervently.

 

Dean ordered when a server came by just before the lights went down. As they watched the movie, Dean couldn’t help but wonder if maybe a different movie would have been better. A film largely about loss and changes couldn’t be a good choice for Jimmy just then. Sure, everything turned out ok in the end, but not without cost.

 

When the movie was over, though, Jimmy seemed pretty unaffected. He even chattered about his favorite parts on the trip home. Well, for the first fifteen minutes. The day had taken its toll out on the toddler, and he nodded off in his car seat. Dean turned the volume down on the radio and spent the rest of the drive alone with his thoughts.

 

Dean sincerely hoped that the DNA test would show that Jimmy wasn’t blood-related to whoever this joker claiming paternity was. It would mean less turmoil for his family, less upset for Jimmy, less money spent fighting to keep his son… He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the DNA did match. Or worse, if Dean lost custody. He couldn’t imagine his life without Jimmy in it.

 

Would he still be allowed to see Jimmy? Or would this guy take him away forever?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~


	7. Chapter 7

 

“Gabriel, I appreciate you coming with me. Truly, I do.” Cas ran a hand down his face. “But I don’t understand _why_ you came.”

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Brother mine, I haven’t seen you in five years. Work has been crazy the past few weeks, so I couldn’t even help you get settled into your new apartment. This is the first time I’ve had to be here for you, and you did say you wanted my support with this whole custody fight. So… Here I am. Being supportive.”

 

Cas had to snort at that. Gabriel may say he was supportive, but his actions weren’t exactly backing his statements up. They had been window shopping for hours and at every turn, Gabriel had some comment.

 

_“Are you sure he’d need a twin bed? I thought toddlers had, y’know, toddler beds.”_

 

_“Do you even know what kind of toys he’d like? He could be into cars or dinosaurs or trains or animals… Maybe even princesses or something.”_

 

_“What size do you think he is? These clothes aren’t cheap, you don’t want to get something he couldn’t wear.”_

 

Cas was very close to having had enough of Gabriel’s ‘subtle’ hints. Of course, he didn’t know _exactly_ what Jimmy would like or even need. That was part of the reason he was out to begin with, to get some idea of what children needed. Cas was absolutely positive that Jimmy was his (those eyes were just too similar to his own), but it couldn’t hurt to wait for the DNA results to actually buy any supplies.

 

They had doubled back to the toy section now. Putting it near the front of the store was an evil stroke of pure genius on the part of the managers, placing it so kids could easily see it both coming and going. Castiel could only imagine how many parents had to drag children out kicking and screaming.

 

Gabriel was taking his time; he’d told Cas to go on ahead a few aisles back. When he caught up to Cas, he had a bottle and a pack of diapers with him. Cas wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scream.

 

“Gabriel, he’s 4. He’s well past the age when children need diapers and bottles!” Cas ground out.

 

Gabriel gave him a long-suffering look. “Well, how the hell would I know? I don’t know the slightest thing about kids, let alone _this_ kid in particular. And by the way, neither do you.”

 

Laughter drifted from behind the arguing brothers. “Are you two adopting?”

 

Cas whirled around to find a lovely blonde woman smiling indulgently. He smiled sheepishly. “Not exactly. I recently learned I have a young son I was unaware of. I’m working to get custody of him.”

 

“How old is he?” she asked.

 

“About four. I’m not sure of his birthday yet.”

 

“Ah, that’s a lovely age. My grandson just turned four not too long ago.” The woman held out her hand in greeting. “I’m Mary.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mary. I’m Castiel; this is my brother, Gabriel.”

 

Amusement sparkled in Mary’s eyes. “Well, Gabriel, if his son is about four, he’s definitely past the bottle and diaper stage. He may still need pull-ups at night, but that’s probably it.”

 

Gabriel’s cheeks were tinged with pink. “I was just fooling around. Cassie here only found out about this kid a couple weeks ago, I think he’s jumping the gun a bit with all this.”

 

Cas huffed warningly, “Gabriel…”

 

“Oh, leave your brother alone, Gabriel.” Mary chided. “He’s clearly invested in his son and wants to be family for him.” She turned back towards Cas. “Now, if you’re looking for toys for him, you could tag along with me for a little while. I’m going to be taking care of my grandson this summer, so I’m here picking up some things.”

 

Cas immediately latched onto the idea, ignoring the frustrated look Gabriel gave him. Another hour was spent at the store with Mary, looking through toys and movies. It was news to Cas, but apparently, four was a very important age for development, and children should be learning numbers, colors, possibly starting to read. It was a lot to take in. Cas hadn’t really considered that teaching a child at home would be so crucial. Wasn’t that what school was for?

 

Mary and Cas exchanged numbers before parting ways, an eye on setting up a play date once Cas had custody. Mary told Cas to call her if he had any more questions about kids, saying “I’ve had two of my own and a grandson. I’m more than happy to help.”

 

“Finally! Cassie, do you know how long we’ve been here?” Gabe asked. “We had breakfast at 9, went to three different stores, and it’s two o’clock! You have got to get me to lunch.”

 

Cas rolled his eyes. “Alright, Gabe. Let’s go eat.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. Chapter 8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next week and a half went by without incident for Dean. Jimmy was settling in nicely at his new daycare, and loving the one on one attention from his grandma each afternoon. Work wasn’t bad either, mostly routine procedures. Dean had almost forgotten about the DNA test completely when Garth called on Thursday.

 

“Hey, Dean.” Garth sounded subdued.

 

“Garth? Oh, fuck.” Dean fell into a chair. “It’s bad isn’t it?”

 

“Well… The DNA test came back, and this guy is Jimmy’s father.”

 

Dean wanted to rail at that. _He_ was Jimmy’s father, not this asshole. This guy was just a… a sperm donor. But the fight went out of his sails. He said dully, “So, what now?”

 

“If you want, I could try to set up a meeting between you guys. Maybe you could figure this out without lawyers and stuff.”

 

Dean laughed disdainfully. “Yeah, cause this guy’s gonna want some stranger trying to convince him to give up his kid.”

 

“Just keep it in mind, Dean. I know lawyers can get real expensive.”

 

“Yeah. I’ll talk to you later, Garth.”

 

Dean spent the next twenty minutes in a stupefied silence. He knew he needed to call Sammy, get an appointment set up with that lawyer he recommended, he should probably call his family and tell them the news. But he didn’t have the heart to do it right then. He stared at the contact list in his phone. He had Cas’ number dialed before he could second-guess himself.

 

A distracted Cas picked up. “Hello?”

 

“Hey, Cas. I, uh… I’m not sure why I called, actually.” Dean let out a strangled laugh.

 

“Dean? Dean, is something wrong?” Cas asked.

 

Dean sighed. “Sort of. I got some bad news and I just… I don’t want to talk to my family about it just yet and your number was in my phone and I guess-”

 

“Dean, slow down. Of course, you can talk to me. We’re friends with benefits, but we are still friends. At least I’d like to think so.”

 

“Right, right.” Dean massaged his temples. “I have a son. Well, I’m adopting a son. And I thought everything was going well, but someone objected to the adoption and now I may lose my son. And it’s terrifying me. I don’t… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

 

Cas’ heart broke for his friend. “Are you busy tonight? If you like, you could come over, just to get away from it all.”

 

“Seriously? I’m not in the mood to fuck, man.”

 

“No, no, of course not,” Cas assured. “I’m not suggesting anything like that. Just a night out. I could make dinner, maybe a movie? Something to take your mind off your troubles.”

 

Dean considered the offer for a moment. It crossed the boundary he had imagined them having, but it sounded so good. To have a night off with someone else? As great as his friends and family were, it had been a long time since he’d been able to just hang out with someone. Even hanging out with Charlie usually involved Jimmy.

 

“Yeah, that sounds great, man. I can hit the store on the way over, pick up some beer? And hit the Redbox, too. Is there anything in particular you’d wanna watch?”

 

“I’ve been out of the country for five years, Dean. You could probably pick any movie from that time period and it’d be new to me,” Cas said wryly.

 

“Oh, right. Well, what genre are you up for? Action, comedy, comic book movie?”

 

“How about you just pick a few of your favorites from the last few years? I’m sure there will be something we can watch.”

 

“All right. I gotta close up shop, get a babysitter, and take a shower.” Dean glanced at the clock. “I can get there around 6, I think.”

 

“That works just fine, Dean. I’ll see you then.”

 

“Bye, Cas.”

 

Dean called his mom, who was more than happy to keep Jimmy overnight. He would need to run some clothes to his parent's house, but it was between his place and Cas’ so it wouldn’t be a problem. Leaving the shop wasn’t any harder; Benny was more than capable of closing on his own. One quick shower later, Dean was on his way to Cas’s place with a six pack and a few movies.

 

Dean knocked on Cas’ door, heard “It’s unlocked!”, and made his way inside.

 

“Hello, Dean. I thought we could do burgers for dinner. Does that work for you? If not, I’m sure I could figure something else out, or we could just order a pizza,” Cas offered.

 

“Burgers are awesome, dude.” Dean set the beer down on the table and fanned out the DVD cases. “Ok, so I got some blockbusters from the last few years. Mostly the Marvel superhero movies. You’ve gotta watch ‘em if you wanna get caught up on pop culture.”

 

Cas nodded distractedly, not looking up from the burger patties he was forming. “Oh, good, I always did like Batman.”

 

Dean’s eye bugged out and his brain skidded to a standstill. He could only stare slack-jawed at Cas, completely unable to believe someone didn’t know the difference between Marvel and DC. He let his head fall against the wall.

 

“Dean?” Cas asked in concern. “Dean, that was a joke. I didn’t mean to break you.”

 

Low, rumbling chuckles started in the pit of Dean’s stomach. It bubbled up and over until he was gasping for breath with the force of his laughter. A wide, gummy grin spread on Cas’ face. He’d never seen Dean look so free and happy before, and to be the cause of such levity on what must have been a horrible day for Dean gave him a happy spark of pride.

 

“Oh my god, I haven’t laughed that hard in ages,” Dean said, wiping tears from his eyes. “You just… you had such a straight face when you said that. Remind me not to play poker against you.”

 

“I’m glad I could provide some humor to your day. Now, would you mind helping me with dinner?”

 

They fell into a friendly silence, punctuated by Dean asking where something was in the unfamiliar kitchen. Moving around each other was like an old familiar dance, with little thought given to the steps. The silence continued through dinner, both men enjoying the food and easy companionship. After cleaning the few dishes, Cas lead Dean into the living room.

 

“So have you seen ANY of the Marvel movies?” Dean asked.

 

“Mmm, I saw Iron Man and Iron Man 2, but that was it.”

 

“All righty then. We’ll start with Thor and Captain America.” Dean grimaced. “Technically, there’s a movie about The Hulk, but they changed actors before the Avengers and I never really liked it anyways, so we’re skipping it.”

 

Cas snickered at Dean’s obvious distaste and gestured towards the TV and DVD player. “Have at it, my friend.”

 

They sat at far ends of the couch throughout the first movie. Both made a quick bathroom break before beginning the next movie and Cas made popcorn. As the opening credits rolled on Captain America, Dean and Cas sat close to each other, the bowl of popcorn between them. The empty bowl was set aside before Dean popped in the final movie of the night. Exhaustion claimed both of them before it was half over and they had both fallen asleep on the couch. Through the night, the men adjusted positions in their sleep, finally ending with Dean laying on Cas’ chest, wrapped in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzt bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!_

 

Dean jerked out of sleep harshly. “Wazzat?”

 

Not fully awake, he pushed himself up.

 

“Augh!”

 

Dean nearly fell off the couch when Cas cried out in pain and shock. “Shit! Sorry, Cas. Something woke me up. I wasn’t really aw-”

 

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!_

 

“That would be what woke me then.”

 

Cas rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced blearily at the clock on the wall. He shot to his feet, dumping Dean onto the floor. “Fuck. I have plans. I’m supposed to go out with my brother today. I completely forgot.”

 

Dean stood slowly, rubbing his ass. “No problem, man. Gimme two minutes and I’ll be out of your hair.”

 

“I’m so sorry, Dean,” Cas said opening the door and silencing Gabriel with a look. “If I had more time, I’d invite you to breakfast at least, but I’m late as it is.”

 

Dean shook his head as he tugged on his boots. “Like I said, it’s no big deal. I wasn’t even planning on staying the night. Guess that third movie was a bad idea.”

 

Cas smiled indulgently. “Yes, I suppose so. Still, I would say it was a good night overall.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The pair stood staring at each other, tension building in the room. Gabriel cleared his throat impatiently, making them jump.

 

“Sorry.” Dean glared at Gabriel. “You have a good day, Cas.”

 

“Feel free to call anytime.” Before he could stop himself, Cas brushed a quick kiss against Dean’s lips. Dean paused for only a second before rushing out to his car.

 

Gabriel closed the door slowly, keenly focused on Cas staring at Dean through the narrowing gap. When Cas snapped out of his reverie, Gabe raised his eyebrow. “You were gonna blow this off for a booty call?”

 

“It wasn’t a booty call,” Cas snapped. “Dean’s a friend who’s having a rough time. We watched movies last night and fell asleep on the couch.”

 

Gabe clucked in disbelief at Cas. Bitingly, he said, “And you want to bring a child into this? Can’t even manage to get to the lawyer to fight for him.”

 

“Gabriel…”

 

“I know, I know,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “We’re not talking about other options.”

 

Castiel glared at his brother until Gabriel squirmed. “Right, so, meeting with the lawyer. It’s a good thing I came early, or we’d never make it in time. You wanna get changed, then?”

 

The drive to Crowley’s office was silent and tense. Gabriel may proclaim his support, but it was grudging at best. Pulling up to the ostentatious building brought a measure of relief to Cas. At least now, Gabriel would have something else to complain about.

 

As if on cue, Gabriel started, “Seriously? This is where your lawyer’s office is? Does he think he’s the king of hell? My god, look at that…”

 

Cas tuned him out. Listening to his brother rant wasn’t the right way to get into the headspace he needed for this meeting. He informed the secretary of his arrival quietly and sat in one of the expensive and uncomfortable chairs in the lobby. Gabriel seemed to be taking stock of the place, no doubt criticizing every square inch of it in his mind.

 

“Mr. Novak? Mr. Crowley’s ready to see you now.” The secretary lead them down the hallway to Crowley’s office.

 

“Ah, Mr. Novak. And you must be the brother? One of them anyways. Take a seat.” Crowley paused long enough for them to get comfortable. “Now, I wasn’t able to find too much information about this Mr. Winchester, but I have some ideas. How would you feel about using a private investigator?”

 

Cas’ brow furrowed in thought. “Wouldn’t that be expensive? I have some savings, but I’m hardly rich.”

 

“No matter.” Crowley waved away Cas’ concern. “We have an in-house investigator, it’ll barely cost you a thing. Since we deal mainly in family law, it comes in handy to have someone on call for this kind of thing. And our PI is very good. Always finds the most fantastic skeletons in closets. Does wonders for our cases, really.”

 

“Cassie…”

 

“Quiet, Gabriel,” Cas snapped. He turned his attention back to Crowley. “And you think it would help my case?”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

Cas gave a sharp nod. “Do it.”

 

“Wonderful. Now, if you just sign these forms, we’ll get our investigator on the case. We’ll keep in contact, of course, but at this point, most of your work is done. Once I find out more about this fellow, I can put together a case against his custody. If you have any questions, feel free to call. Otherwise, I’ll contact you with the court date and we’ll go from there.”

 

Cas signed the new paperwork, pointedly ignoring the disapproval in his brother’s eyes and the roiling feeling in his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Saturday brought rain and a sticky, muggy heat. Dean had an appointment with his lawyer, so Sam was watching Jimmy. They had made plans to visit the zoo, but the weather ruined that idea. Instead, the pair made their way to the Natural History Museum around 10 in the morning. It wasn’t as fun as the zoo, but Jimmy loved animals, so it seemed a safe bet to Sam.

 

They made their way around the museum, stopping when Jimmy saw something that interested him. The insect exhibit was a big hit, with its live beetles and interactive worm tunnel. Together, Sam and Jimmy completed most of a scavenger hunt the museum put together. When lunch time rolled around, Jimmy decided he didn’t care about finishing the scavenger hunt and just wanted to eat. Sam’s own stomach was growling at the prospect of food, so he readily agreed.

 

20 minutes after leaving the museum, Sam and Jimmy were settled into a booth at a nearby diner. Sam had managed to convince his nephew to get something _other_ than a burger and fries, but it had been a difficult task. Jimmy seemed downtrodden as they waited for their meals.

 

“You feeling okay, kiddo?”

 

Jimmy shrugged.

 

“You know you can always talk to me, right? If you’re upset about something, I want to try to help.”

 

The four-year-old seemed to consider that. Tears started to well up in his eyes, alarming Sam. “D-does Daddy not l-love me anymore?”

 

Shock rocked through Sam. “Of course he loves you! Why would you think that?”

 

“He’s always busy and t-tired and angry. He-he doesn’t play with me anymore. He al-always gives m-me to you or G-grandma. D-d-d-did I-” Jimmy hiccuped. “Did I do something to make him mad at me?”

 

“Oh, Jimmy.” Sam pulled the boy into a tight hug. “Your daddy is going through a lot right now, to make sure he’s your daddy forever. It’s a big thing and takes a lot of work, that’s why he’s been so busy. And sometimes, when adults want something really bad, and they’re scared they might not get it, they can get cranky. He loves you so much, Jimmy, just like all of us do.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean should have expected his meeting with Abaddon to be exhausting. Sam had said she was fantastic with her cases, but that her nickname around the office was the “Queen of Hell” and she deserved it. For some reason, Dean had assumed his brother was exaggerating. He was not.

 

“Mr. Winchester. In order to help you, I need to know everything about your past. No matter how small, it could be twisted and used against you in this. So… What were your high school years like?” Abaddon crossed her legs, the dark red skirt riding up her thigh.

 

“Uh… For the most part, it was average, I guess?” Dean shrugged. “I got decent grades, was on the wrestling team-”

 

Her eyes sharpened. “Don’t bullshit me, Mr. Winchester. You know what I’m talking about. Why didn’t you graduate with your class? It says here you have your GED.”

 

Dean swallowed thickly. “Senior year. My mom, uh… she got real sick. I started acting out, skipping class, getting into fights at school, that kind of thing. Got into a fight with this one kid, his dad was some state senator or something. Didn’t matter that I didn’t start that fight, I got expelled. I spent a few weeks being angry at the world, feeling sorry for myself. Stole some of Dad’s liquor and got caught driving drunk. Dad laid into me then, about how I was being an asshole. Told me to choose: go to another school to finish or start working at the garage. I chose the garage. Sammy pushed me to get my GED a few years later.”

 

“Hm.” Abaddon looked up from her legal pad. “And have you had any legal trouble since then?”

 

“Couple of speeding tickets, but that’s it. Look, is this really gonna come up? I mean, the DUI was as a minor, the record is sealed, and why would getting a GED instead of a diploma matter?”

 

“In an ideal world, it wouldn’t, but this is law. I’m sure you’ve heard of the reputation lawyers have. It’s not unearned, I promise. Whatever lawyer is handling Novak’s case will likely try to find some skeletons in your closet. We need to know what they have to work with, so we can plan a defense against it.”

 

A prickle of unease ran through Dean. “So if they find this stuff out, they could use it against me?”

 

“Absolutely. I would,” Abaddon said baldly. “Fighting in high school can be turned into anger issues and trouble with authority. A DUI, not to mention a DUI while underage, could be used to argue alcohol problems. And frankly, unfair as it is, most people look down on those with a GED. Those are the facts and what we have to defend against.”

 

“Great. Will any of this ruin my chances at adopting Jimmy if I win, though?” Dean asked.

 

“Because you were already approved and had your background check come back clear, no. Generally speaking, this wouldn’t even be an issue in an adoption case. This is a matter of them trying to prove you to be an unfit guardian, no matter what has already been decided by Child Protective Services. They will try to convince the judge your past is more serious than CPS judged it to be.”

 

“Can they do that? If I’m already cleared by CPS, why isn’t that enough?”

 

“A good lawyer will hammer home the point that CPS is drastically overworked and underfunded, and posit that your case slipped through the cracks because of it. The right judge may be favorable to that argument.”

 

“But it’s not a guarantee? Some judges may see through it, right?”

 

“That, Mr. Winchester,” Abaddon said with an evil grin, “is my job. To make sure they _do_ see through it.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sunday brought with it another Winchester Family dinner. Charlie, Bobby, and Jody couldn’t make it, so it was just the nuclear core this time. Dean cooked his favorite cottage pie recipe, something simple and comforting. To appease Sam’s health nut ways, he even had a salad (sure it was a bagged salad from the grocery store, but it’s rabbit food, shut up, Sam). Conversation stayed light throughout the meal, mostly focusing on Jimmy’s new daycare and the friends he’d made there. The new arrangement was working out well; apparently, Jimmy had been rather lonely with only a babysitter for most of the day.

 

John and Mary watched some tv with Jimmy while Sam and Dean cleaned up afterward. The house had a half wall in front of the sink, so Dean could watch Jimmy on the couch with his grandparents. A small smile played on his lips as he rinsed plates.

 

“So, Dean…” Sam started hesitantly. “Jimmy told me something yesterday that I think you should know, and probably talk to him about.”

 

“What’s up?”

 

“I know that it’s been a rough few weeks for you, with the custody case and all, but, uh… Jimmy’s feeling kind of neglected.” Sam held up a hand to cut off Dean’s immediate argument. “I know it’s not what you meant to have happen, and I obviously don’t think you’re actually neglecting him. He’s just a kid, though, and there’ve been a lot of changes recently. Mom and I have been watching him a lot more often than we usually do, and you have to admit, you’ve been pretty tightly wound lately. He… He asked if you didn’t love him anymore because you don’t play with him as much as you used to and that you seem upset all the time.”

 

Dean’s heart stuttered. His boy was worried that he didn’t want him? He was putting so much effort into fighting to keep Jimmy, he’d never thought Jimmy might worry about being unloved. “Fuck,” Dean whispered.

 

Sam tried to console him. “I think you just need to have some proper one on one time with him. Maybe tell him a bit more about what’s going on? He may be young, but he’s a pretty smart kid, y’know.”

 

“I didn’t even think about it, Sammy. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own head, I didn’t even think about my son worrying.” Dean chewed thoughtfully on his lip. “What if I’m _not_ a good dad for Jimmy? What if this other guy could do better?”

 

Sam dropped the pan he was washing with a clatter. “Dean. You’ve been Jimmy’s father nearly his whole life. You love him and want what’s best for him. Sure, maybe you’ve been a bit distant lately, but everyone screws up. Hell, you being there the last few years already puts you miles ahead of anyone else. Just talk to him.”

 

Dean nodded once, determined. “Thanks for telling me, Sammy.”

 

The car ride home was quiet, one of Jimmy’s music tapes playing low in the Impala. The silence stretched into the house, surrounding them as Jimmy changed into pajamas and brushed his teeth. Dean finally broke the stillness as he tucked Jimmy into bed.

 

“I heard you had a lot of fun with Uncle Sam at the museum yesterday.”

 

Jimmy simply nodded.

 

“He uh… He also told me you were feeling kinda lonely and sad cause I’ve been so busy the last few weeks.”

 

The boy stilled in his bed.

 

“I’m not upset, buddy.” Dean paused. “I mean, I’m not upset with you. Life has been pretty hectic and tense lately, but I shouldn’t have let that affect you so much, so I’m mad at me.”

 

“So you still love me?” Jimmy asked quietly.

 

Dean’s heart broke. “ _Of course, I still love you._ I will _always_ love you. You’re my son, and even when you grow up and get all old and gray and wrinkly, I will love you. I just haven’t been doing a very good job of showing it recently. And I am so sorry I made you feel bad.”

 

“Are you gonna start playing with me more?”

 

“I promise I will try to play with you more, but I can’t promise. There’s a lot of work I have to do so I can adopt you. So you’ll probably be staying with Grandma and Uncle Sammy a lot for the next while. I _can_ promise to love you forever and try better to make sure you know it.”

 

“Pinky promise?”

 

Dean chuckled. “Pinky promise.”

 

Jimmy smiled gummily and sat up to hug Dean. “I love you, Daddy.”

 

Dean savored the hug, eyes tight.  “I love you too, buddy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Days melted into weeks, and before Dean knew it, Jimmy was starting preschool. The last few weeks of summer had been hectic, full of meetings with Abaddon and making sure Jimmy was prepared for school. Dean managed to see Cas a few more times, although he didn’t spend the night anymore, conscious of his promise to spend more time with Jimmy. At the end of Jimmy’s second week, he was invited to a sleepover with some of his new classmates. Dean thought it was a great idea; it would give Jimmy the chance to make friends and have fun, and himself a chance to have his own sleep over with Cas.

 

He dropped Jimmy off, making sure the parents had his cell phone number as well as Sam’s and Mary’s. He couldn’t see there being any need for them, but better safe than sorry. Dean stopped by the Redbox to grab the final Marvel movie for his da-...night with Cas (it wasn’t a date, dammit, just two friends getting pizza, watching a movie and maybe screwing on the couch).

 

Cas was expecting him and had texted him that the door would be unlocked. Dean couldn’t help the irrational need to check his hair in the window before he opened the door and announced his arrival.

 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas said with a smile. “I already ordered the pizza and there’s beer in the fridge.”

 

“Straight to business tonight, huh?”

 

A pink blush rose to his cheeks. “Well, I have been enjoying the Marvel movie nights, but it’s been a while since I had the pleasure of having you for a full night. I must admit to being rather eager.”

 

Dean laughed. “It’s cool, man. Life’s been running me ragged though, I think you’re gonna have to do all the work.”

 

“That’s not a problem.”

 

Cas started the movie while Dean grabbed the drinks from the fridge. About 15 minutes into the movie, the pizza arrived. Dean grabbed some cash from his wallet to pay. They ate and watched mostly in silence. By the time the credits rolled, the pizza box lay abandoned on the coffee table, the movie forgotten as the men made out like teenagers on the couch, grinding against each other languidly.

 

“Mmm, bed?” Cas mumbled against Dean’s lips.

 

He nodded in response, then grinned. “First one there and naked wins.”

 

He shot off the couch, tossing his shirt behind him to land on Cas’ head. Despite his head start, Dean somehow lost (ok, maybe it was on purpose). Cas smirked from the bed. “What do I win?”

 

Dean pretended to give it some thought before saying, “Hmm, guess you win the right to have your way with me.”

 

His eyes darkened in arousal as Cas pulled Dean onto the bed with him. They kissed for a while, neither desperate to get off, mostly enjoying the ability to take their time. Cas straddled Dean and teasingly thrust against his cock. He ran his hands up Dean’s arms, holding them in place on the headboard.

 

“Keep your hands there,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument. He slid off the bed and rummaged in his drawer, pulling out lube, a condom, and a good-sized dildo. “You’re going to stay there and take it like a good boy.”

 

Dean swallowed hard and nodded his head. Whatever Cas was up to, the look in his eyes promised it would be fantastic. Cas started trailing light teasing bites up the inside of Dean’s thigh, then licked a broad stripe over his hole. Dean let out a gasp as he followed his tongue with two lubed fingers. The sudden stretch burned slightly in the most delicious way. Dean could see Cas’ smirk as he was slowly opened.

 

“If I wanted to be mean, I’d tell you to keep quiet or wait for permission to cum,” Cas murmured. “But you’ve had such a hard time of it lately, that would just be cruel.” He teased Dean’s hole with the head of the condom-covered dildo. “So you go right ahead and make as much noise as you want.”

 

“Fuck…” Dean ground out as the dildo was slowly pushed inside him. Cas set a steady pace, almost leisurely. Each drag past Dean’s prostate pulled a low moan from his lips.

 

“You look so good like this,” Cas said softly. “Just taking it, reveling in your pleasure.”

 

Dean whined at the praise.

 

“Hmm, you like that, don’t you, sweetheart? Like knowing you’re being so wonderful, such a good boy for me. So beautiful, Dean. Gorgeous.”

 

A high-pitched whimper escaped Dean’s throat as he came, the orgasm sending pleasure through him in pulsing waves, almost gentle. Cas pulled the dildo out, leaving Dean feeling empty. It hadn’t taken long, and true to his word, Cas had done all the work, but Dean felt drained and went nearly limp, covered in a fine sheen of sweat and come. He lifted his bliss-dazed eyes to Cas and saw him lazily stroking his cock. Dean moved slightly to try to help. Cas just shook his head.

 

“Shh, sweetheart. Just wanna look at you. You’re so gorgeous like this, lax and dreamy, like a page out of a fantasy. Fuck, you’re a work of art.” His hand sped up and he groaned deeply. A few long pulls later and he was coming onto Dean’s stomach, their semen mixing together. He fell boneless to lay next to Dean.

 

“Worth the wait?” Dean asked cheekily.

 

“Absolutely.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

They spent the night sleeping off and on, rutting lazily against each other or having energetic sex when they were awake. Dean’s phone rang with his alarm at 9, and they shared handjobs in the shower before taking time for breakfast. Dean was heading towards the door when Cas spotted something on the floor. He picked it up. Looking back at him was a snapshot of a grinning dark haired boy. _Jimmy_.

 

“Is this yours?” He croaked.

 

Dean took a quick look. “Oh, yeah. That’s Jimmy, my son. Picture must have fallen out when I paid for the pizza.”

 

Cas nodded faintly.

 

“Well, I’ve gotta go pick him up. I’ll talk to you soon?”

 

Another vague nod. Dean smiled, turned and walked out the door, leaving Cas’ world completely shattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


****


	12. Chapter 12

 

**_Thursday_ **

 

**To: Cas**

**Sent: 12:42 pm**

**Hey, Cas, looks like I’m free next weekend. You wanna hook up?**

 

**_Tuesday_ **

 

**To: Cas**

**Sent: 3:27 pm**

**Everything ok over there?**

 

**_Saturday_ **

 

**To: Cas**

**Sent: 1:58 pm**

**Did I do something wrong, dude?**

 

**_Monday_ **

 

“Hey, Cas, it’s Dean. Is everything ok? Haven’t heard from you in a while. Give me a call.”

 

**_Friday_ **

 

“The number you have dialed is not in service. Please hang up and try again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	13. Chapter 13

After things went belly up with Cas, Dean focused on his custody case. He couldn’t help the little jolt of longing he got when a text message came in or an unknown number called, but he forced himself to put it to the side. The court date was only a week away and he needed to be ready. Cas seemed to pop into his mind at random, though, and he sometimes drifted, wondering what he’d done wrong.

 

“Are you okay, Dean?”

 

Charlie’s voice pulled him out of his daze. “Yeah, Charlie, I’m fine.”

 

“You’ve just been really distracted lately. You need to get laid or something? I can look after Jimmy for a few hours.”

 

Dean groaned. “Ugh, no.”

 

Her eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. “Dean Winchester, denying the opportunity to get some? Now I know something’s wrong.” She leaned towards him. “Come on, tell Aunt Charlie what’s wrong.”

 

“It’s just... “ Dean sighed. “It’s dumb. I had a sorta friends with benefits thing going and he just stopped replying to texts and calls. I mean, I thought we were really friends, y’know? More than just an easy lay for each other. Fuck, we didn’t even have sex every time we met up. And he just vanished.”

 

“That sucks. Did you have a fight or something?”

 

“No, that’s the thing. We had sex, I spent the night, we ate breakfast… Everything seemed fine.”

 

“Sounds like he’s just an asshole,” Carlie suggested.

 

Dean shook his head sadly. “I didn’t think he was, but I guess so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Despite having the date memorized, written in every calendar he owned, everything short of tattooing the damn thing on his eyelids, it still managed to sneak up of Dean. The October morning was cool, the trees lining the street that the courthouse was on just starting to turn. Dean was as ready as he’d ever be but still felt like he needed more time. He kept his head down for most of the walk to the courtroom they’d be in, just knowing that looking anywhere but at his shoes would give him anxiety. Even at the table, he kept his head down, looking over the notes he and Abaddon had come up with.

 

“All rise. The Honorable Judge Kinsey presiding.”

 

The judge, a short, older woman with graying hair said, “You may be seated. The case before the court is that of Novak v Winchester. We are here for a preliminary hearing on a petition for custody of James Allen. The petitioner, Castiel Novak, is here, represented by attorney Fergus Crowley and the respondent, Dean Winchester, is here, represented by Abaddon Sands. Mr Crowley, you may proceed.”

 

Dean’s head whipped around to the plaintiff’s table. Sure enough, sitting there, staring straight ahead, was Cas. Anger started boiling low in Dean’s stomach.

 

“Your Honor,” Crowley began, “Mr. Novak is the biological father of Mr. Allen. There was an incident of sexual congress with the boy’s mother just before my client left the country for a tour of duty with the Army. The nature of the arrangement left my client unaware he had a child. We have submitted DNA evidence to attest to the boy’s parentage. Had my client known, he would have filed for custody immediately. Indeed, as soon as his suspicions were roused, Mr. Novak began the process to gain custody.

 

“In addition, we would argue that Mr. Winchester is an unfit guardian. He has a history of anger issues, including fighting in high school to the extent that he was expelled and never graduated. He also has a drinking problem, likely starting at a young age, as he was charged with aDUI at 17. In fact, Mr. Novak first saw James when he was inadequately supervised in a public park, putting Mr. Winchester’s childcare choices in question.”

 

Every word ratcheted up the fire in Dean’s gut until finally, he burst. “That’s a god damned lie! The babysitter was at the park and made a mistake. And I fired her the same day. Jimmy’s in school now and... “

 

Judge Kinsey banged her gavel, silencing him. “Mr. Winchester, if there are any more outbursts I will have you removed from this courtroom.”

 

Crowley seemed to gloat as he said, “As you can see, Your Honor, he can’t control his temper for twenty minutes in court, how could he possibly be a good father to an impressionable young child.”

 

“Crowley, enough.”

 

He spun on his heel to look as Cas. “I beg your pardon?”

 

Cas sighed. “I said _enough_. You’re fired. I should have listened to my brother in the first case. De- Mr. Winchester does not have an anger problem, you’re making it up whole cloth.”

 

“You’ll regret this, Novak,” Crowley threatened.

 

“Perhaps,” Cas conceded. “Your Honor, I would like to ask for a… a continuation? I’m having second thoughts about the case and would like more time to consider it.”

 

The judge frowned. “Mr. Novak, I dislike when people bring cases up frivolously. I’ll grant your continuance, but know that I will not appreciate it if it happens again. Dismissed.”

 

Dean nearly ran to the bathroom. He couldn’t believe he’d almost lost Jimmy, that he hadn’t held his temper, that _Cas_ of all people was the… other father. He splashed some water on his face, trying to center himself and heard the door open.

 

“Dean, I’m-”

 

“Fuck you, Cas. Did you know the whole time? Were you just playing me? I thought we were friends, you asshole!”

 

“No, I on-”

 

“You know what? I don’t care.” Dean stormed out, leaving a dejected Cas alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cas called Gabriel as soon as he left the courthouse and asked to meet. His mind was racing the entire ride to his apartment. He managed to make tea for himself before Gabriel knocked on his door.

 

“Hey, baby bro, how’s it going?” Gabriel caught the ashen look on Cas’ face and changed tact. “Cassie? What’s wrong?”

 

“Today was the custody hearing.”

 

“Oh, shit. Did you lose?”

 

Cas shook his head. “Not the case, but I lost anyway.”

 

“What? Cassie, you’ve _lost_ me.”

 

Cas took a deep breath. “You know the man who was here the morning we went to meet with Crowley? He’s…” Another steadying breath. “He’s Jimmy’s foster father.”

 

Gabe plonked down in a kitchen chair. “Fuck.”

 

“And the worst part is…”

 

“What, Cassie?”

 

Cas managed to look shame faced. He whispered. “I knew.”

 

“The fuck?! Oh fuck, tell me you weren’t screwing him to get information for the case.”.

 

“No, no. I only found out the last time we met. He’d dropped a picture of Jimmy and I picked it up.”

 

“And let me guess. You didn’t tell him.”

 

Cas hung his head.

 

“What’s gotten into you? This isn’t like you, Cassie.”

 

Cas’ eyes took on the shine of unshed tears. “I don’t know, Gabe. I just… I’ve felt so alone since I got back. Do you know, nearly the whole first month I was here I only spoke to the cashier at the store and the pizza delivery man? I’d never felt so isolated, and then I saw Jimmy. I saw a chance to have someone, to have _connections_ again. Maybe I grabbed too hard onto that possibility.”

 

Gabriel let out a deep breath. “Yeah. So what are you gonna do? Are you going ahead with the case?”

 

“No,” Cas said with a watery chuckle. “I fired Crowley. I tried to talk to Dean, but he wouldn’t listen. I can’t blame him. I think… I think I need to get some counseling.”

 

“That sounds like a good idea. Maybe you can talk with a shrink, see if trying to be a part of Jimmy’s life would be a good thing?”

 

Cas nodded, resolute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

When the phone call from an unknown number came two weeks later, Dean was still beyond pissed at Cas. He agreed to meet up anyways, something inside himself pushing for more.They met at an out of the way coffee shop and took a table in a far corner. The silence was awkward as neither knew how to begin the conversation they needed to have.

 

“So?” Dean barked. “You wanted to talk. Talk.”

 

Cas cleared his throat. “First of all, Dean, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for not telling you when I found out, I’m sorry for disrupting your life, and I’m sorry for any harm that Jimmy suffered because of my rash actions.” He sighed. “I absolutely did not know that you were Jimmy’s… father, until that last time we met, when I saw his picture.”

 

“That why you fucking ghosted me?”

 

“Yes. I couldn’t reconcile you, the Dean I had been meeting and enjoying time with, with the man who was keeping my son from me.” He held up a head to cut off Dean’s retort. “I know, it’s not logical. I’ve been seeing a therapist, who has been helping me work through _why_ I was so determined to gain custody so quickly.”

 

“And?”

 

“I was feeling isolated and disconnected from the world and jumped at the first chance of meaningful contact.”

 

“So, you were lonely, and that made you want a kid?”

 

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but yes.” Cas paused, toying idly with the spoon in his tea. “I’m dropping the custody case. But, Dean, I _would_ like to be a part of Jimmy’s life.”

 

Dean considered that. He had to admit, he might have done the same thing in Cas’ place. He wasn’t a bad person, just made some shit decisions. He huffed. “Yeah. Jimmy should probably know you. Hell, having more family can only be a good thing, right?”

 

Cas gave a guarded smile. “Thank you, Dean.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	15. Chapter 15

 

**_Six Months Later_ **

 

Coming to a working co-parenting relationship hadn’t been easy for Dean and Cas. The first few visits had been stiff and awkward, Cas too conciliatory, Dean still angry, poor Jimmy confused. Thankfully, they had come to an arrangement that worked for them by Christmas. Jimmy had been spending some weekends with Cas and Cas joined in on some family get togethers. There had been a few delicate moments, such as when the adults found out the whole story. Mary got a good laugh out of the fact she’d been giving Cas advice and trying to set her grandson up on a playdate with… her grandson.

 

Still, time heals many wounds, and Dean and Cas had come to a tentative friendship by April. Cas had a few fantasies about patching things up with Dean, becoming a couple, maybe a real family with Jimmy. But he hadn’t the nerve to ask Dean for more, given how immensely he’d screwed up.

 

Jimmy had managed the changes with an almost alarming cheerfulness. Both Dean and Cas had been watching carefully for any signs of distress, but he seemed genuinely unbothered. One lazy April evening, Dean was on his stomach playing with Jimmy in their living room. He was lining up army men, waiting for his forces to be demolished by Jimmy’s legion of dinosaurs. “Did you have fun with Cas this weekend?”

 

“Uh-huh. We went to the zoo and saw the tigers and I got cotton candy.”

 

Dean laughed. “That’s nice. And you’re really okay spending so much time with him? If you’re not happy, we can figure something else out…”

 

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Yes, Daddy. Cas is fun. And Meg says our family is un-u-sual…” He trailed off, looking to Dean for confirmation. “But it’s not bad. It just means I gots more family to love and play with!”

 

Dean couldn’t argue with that logic. But… “Who’s Meg, buddy?”

 

“Oh, Meg is Cas’ special friend.”

 

The phrase “special friend” stayed in Dean’s mind all week. What did it even mean? Was Cas dating? Was it serious? The thoughts nagged him, right up to his monthly meeting with Cas to discuss Jimmy. He knew he must have been vague throughout the meeting. Multiple times Cas had needed to regain his attention when his thoughts wandered. As they were leaving the diner they’d met at, Dean pulled Cas to the edge of the sidewalk..

 

“Is something wrong, Dean?”

 

Dean couldn’t think of the words. How did he explain that he didn’t want Cas dating? Rather… dating someone other than himself. So he took action instead. He gathered Cas’ face in his hands and pressed a kiss to his lips.

 

Cas’ eyes widened at the kiss, but he responded almost instantly. He’d been thinking about such a moment for weeks. When they finally broke away both men were out of breath.

 

“Dean?”

 

Dean cleared his throat. “I don’t… You can’t… Will you go on a date with me?”

 

A dazzling smile broke across Cas’ face. “I’d love to. But can I ask what brought this on? It seems… sudden.”

 

A blush pinked Dean’s cheeks. “Uh, Jimmy mentioned Meg, your, uh, ‘special friend’, and it bothered me. It took me a while to figure it out, but I was jealous. I don’t want you dating anyone but me.”

 

Cas started laughing. A giggle at first, but soon it transformed into a full on belly laugh. “Dean, I’d love to date you, but there’s something you should know about Meg.”

 

“What?” Dean asked, worry tinging his tone.

 

“Meg’s my therapist.” Cas started laughing again, only silenced when Dean captured his lips in another kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~


End file.
